Imatges de pàgina
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4 Have we not daily bread? doth not God feed us with food convenient for us?

5 Doth not God affure our confciences of the free remiffiou of our fins?

Doth not he in temptations fave us from the evill one that feeketh our deftruction, and maketh them the exercises of our vertue, and are directed to the dilapidation of our faith?

We may aske nothing elfe of God but what hath reference to one of these petitions, and in all thefe God heareth us and granteth our requests.

Our own want of faith and zeal in prayer, our own neglect of the dutie, our own unthankfulness to God for benefits already received, our corrupt defires to spend the favours of God upon our fufts, may make many of our prayers mif

carry.

Much more if we do ask any thing at the hands of God, which is not lawfull.

But let us aske as he commandeth, and the argument will follow comfortably.

If the fervants of God have heretofore prevailed with God, fo far as to work miracles for their good, much more will God hear our ordinary fuits, and grant them fo far, as may ftand with the glory of his name, and our good.

But at adventure he hath commanded us to pray, and let us do our duty in obedience to him, and leave the fucceffe to his fatherly providence: prayer is the cafting our care upon God, and is not that a great comfort to us, when our care is put off and fo repofe, that we may ferve our God without fear or care for things of this life.

2 The victory that followed the ftation of the Sun and Moon, contein two things.

Wha: God did in indignation to his enemies.

2 What he did in favour to his peop e. I What he did in indignation?

Conteining,

1 His martiall march through the Land. 22 His conqueft of it,

I His March.

Thou didst march through the land in indignation; which teach

eth us;

That in all wars God is Lord of Hofts, and generall of all the Armies teat fight in his quarrel.

This was affured to foshua by a Vifion, for

Doct.

It came to paffe when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his Joh.5.13. eyes and looked, and behold there ftood a man over against him, with his word drawn in his hand, and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, art thou for usor for our adverfaries?

And he faid nay: but as a Captaine of the boast of the Lord am I now come, and Joshua fell on his face to the earth and did worship. This must be God that appeared to him by this Angel: and it is the fame Angel which God before promised.

Behold, Ifend an Angell before thee to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared.

Beware of him, and obey his voice, and provoke him not; for ke will not pardon your tranfgreffions: for my name is in him.

This Angel muft needs be the fame, who is after called the Meffiah, or anointed in the next verfe, and both the power that was given him of God to protect, and to pardon, and the charge that was given to the people not to offend him, and the worship which foshua did give him, and the name which God faid was in him, prove him to be fefus Chrift.

All ferves to prove that God was the leader of these wars, as here is faid. Thou didst march through the Land.

And God doth take it upon himself. I the Lord do all these things.

The reafon is, because war is one of the rods of God, wherewith he doth fcourge the finnes of men. For thus, faith the Lord God.

How much more when I send my four great judgments upon Jerufalem: the first of them is the word.

Who can manage the judgments of God but himfelf, and therefore when wicked perfons are imployed by him to punish finners by the sword, he confeffeth, the fervice done to him as in the cafe of Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babel against Tyrus.

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I have given bim the Land of Egypt, for the labour wherewith V.ric. be ferved against Tyrus: because they wrought for me, faith the

Lord.

God ordereth all wars, for wars, as I have faid, is one of Gods own rods, and none can manage them without him, fo all wars, as they are from him, are just wars.

But they may be unjuft in respect of them that commence and profecute them.

The point then here taught is, that in all wars which are juft in respect of God who fmiteth them, God is the leader, and the protector of his armies, who giveth them both ftrength to fight and victory in battail.

Thefe were Gods wars by which Ifrael was fetled in the land of Canaan, and they were the wars of God, by which Ifrael was led away captive into Babel. you heard God himHab.1.6. felf fay fo. For, lo, I raise up the Chuldaans that bitter and

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hafty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land, to poffefs the dwelling places that are not theirs.

God was he that marched through the land then in indig

-nation.

This teacheth us wherefoever we fee the fword of God abroad in the world to fmite, to confeffe it to be Gods foare judgment, without whom no man could draw a sword, or lift up his arme in the world,

God brought in his Ifrael by the fword, and by the fword he carrieth them out of Canaan, the hand of the Lord is in both.

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Therefore, whatsoever preparations of war, Gods fervants do make to hold or to recover their own right, to relieve the diftreffes of others, or to fuppreffe the injuries of oppref fours, they muft commit their caufe to the Lord, and feek their ftrength from him, and depend on him for their fucceffe."

Bur as God is the author and manager of all wars, fo is he the speciall protectonr of thofe that he hath feparated from the world to be his Church and peculiar people, as in the story of fuels paffage you have heard... i.

In this war, God did march before his Ifrael against the inhabitants of Canaan, and caft the fear of them upon them all. This is a great advantage in all wars, to have Cod on their fides, for as David faith, If the Lord had not been on our fide, when men rofe up against us, they had swallowed us ap, &c.

Then is God a speciall protectour, when he directeth his war to the good of them whom he protecteth, and marcheth in fury against their enemies.

And thus it was with Ifrael when they took poffeffion of Canaan, as you have heard. For they gate not the Land in poffeffion, by their own arm, neither did their own arm fave them, but thy right band and thine arme, &c.

The diftreffed have a speciall warrant to call upon. God, and it was the voice of the Church, when the Arke removed to fay, Exurgat Deus diffipentur inimici ejus: let God arife, and let his enemies be scattered.

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God is mercifull to our land, and Church, that we yet live peace, it is full of comfort, when God marcheth before his Church in their wars, but it is much more happineffe when he biddeth us go to our chambers, and fhut the door after us and tarry a while till the ftorm of troubles over-blow.

But then it is moft joyous, hen he giveth peace within our walls, and plenty within our palaces.

Thus have we lived hitherto by the favour of the God of peace, and it fhal do well that we do lay this example to heart: For the fame God that marched before Ifrael to plant them in, doth now march before the Chaldeans to caft them out, that fought for them to give them their land, now fighteth against them to carry them captives out of the Land.

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It is the indignation of God that maketh this change, and it is their fin that thus provoketh him.

Yet they look back in their captivity and comfort themfelves with the remembrance of Gods former protection.

Sin hath made this change: are we more in the favour of God then Ifrael was, or have we finned leffe then they did,that their evils fhould not come on us.

Surely the fins of our land, are both many and hainous,

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the double edge of the word which is drawn and ufed against them, doth not draw bloud.

Nullus fequitur de vulacre fanguis.

The course that is taken for reformation is prepofterous, for men look without themfelves, and complaine of the faults of others, and would faine amend their brethren, but the right way is: Let every one strive and labour to amend one.

And all that fay, Let not this evill come upon us; not the fword, not the peftilence, not famine: let them be tender that no evill come out of them, for our fins are they which part God and us, which maketh him that fet us up, caft us down. 2 His conqueft. This is expreft in divers phrafes, to declare it fierce and violent..

I Thou didst thresh the heathen in anger.

Thou woundeft the head out of the house of the wicked.

3 Discovering the foundation to the neck

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All look one way to defcribe God in his indignation, how he layes about him, and they teach us, that

It is a fearfull thing to fall into the hands of the living God, for he is known by executing judgement, and the heathen are punifhed in his fight.

True, that he is patient, and long-fuffering, even toward the heathen that know not God; long did the curfed feed of Cham poffeft the land of Canaan, and God deferred their punishment to the fourth generation, himself giveth the reason of it.

For the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.

There be fix figns of enfuing judgment, and where they are found, what remaineth but a fearfull expectation of the fierce wrath of God?

1 The qualitie of the fins committed, if they be of those crying finnes which do immediately impeach the glorious Majefty of God: fuch as are fuperftition and Idolatry, which do give the glory of God to creatures, Blafphemy, breach of Gods Sabbath.

Or fuch as violate humane fociety, fins against nature, as in the Sodomites, fins of bloud,as in the old wørld, fins of oppref

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