Reaf.2. He is called our Shepherd and fo we come to want nothing, for he leadeth us both to the green paftures, and to the waters of comfort. He is called the husband of the Church, and Chrift preferveth her to him, fine macula & ruga, without fpot or wrinckle, and Chrift teacheth us to call him our father, fo as a father bath compaffion, &c;. The Lord is our King of old, he maketh salvation in the middeft of the earth. All these titles declare him no Non-refidont from his charge, he is always Incumbent. For ipfe eft qui dat faluteme 2 Because the Church committeth it felf to him,and cafteth her care upon him, and he never failed them that truft in him. Saint Paul, I know whom I have trufted, Commit thy ways to the Lord, and trust in him, and hee fhall bring it to pass. Reaf.3. 13 The Church of God giveth him no reft,but by continual fupplications, importuneth his faving protection, saying; O Lord, I pray thee fave now: O Lord, I pray thee now give profperity, he hath commanded her fo to do. To feek,to aske, to knock, and invocatiou is one of the marks of Gods children. He that calleth on the name of the Lord fhall be faved. They are called the affembly of Gods armies, and their prayers be their weapons, Heaven is their abiding City which they befiege, and Chrift faith, the violent take it by force. For, multorum preces impoffibile eft contemni. 4 Chrift himself always prayeth the Father for his Church, that God would keep it, and he faith,to his Father, I know that thou hearest me always. This comfortable Doctrine ferveth to refresh the grieved foul in time of affliction, the fmare of Gods rod doth many times puts us into fits of impatience, and murmuring, and the delay of Gods faving help, doth often stagger our weak faith that the man after Gods one heart,doth fometimes feare that God hath given him over. 2.0) 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 fhaking fit of feare, that Cod hath forfaken us, and we fay : why ftandeft thon fo far iff, O Lord, and hideft thee in due time, Pfal.10.1. in time of affliction? But when we remember, thou art with me, it establisheth our footsteps, it ftrengtheneth our weak knees, and comforteth our forrowfuli 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 Pla!.43.5. on God, for I will yet give him thanks, for the help of his prefence,he is my prefent help, and my God. So then, if prefent iffue appear not out of affliction, let us not faint in our troubles: but perfwade us that God is with us, and the rock of our falvation will not fail us. 2 This fheweth that we need not feek further for falvation, Use 2. then to God himself, and his anointed, feeing they are always with us. It is a foolish and idle fuperftition and idolatry to feek our falvation, 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 falvation with us.. 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. I 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, Pal, 3.25 that I defire befides 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 them them in their vertues, and pray for the graces of God that fanctified them on earth. But for our falvation, we know that he is always with us, that faveth us, and his anointed doth never forfake us, that keepeth us from evill. We hear him faying, Come unto me, and he calleth us not to heaven to him, but, Le, I am with you to the end of the World: he is neer unto all that call upon him, and he is eafily found of them that seek 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 fo neer us, but that our felves 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 faith; 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, fo is falvation, as David faith. Pfal.119. V.rfe. ss. Ilay 59.1. Verse 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 fave, nor his ear heavy, that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have feparated between you and your God, and your fins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear. 4 Seeing our falvation is of him, onely by his anointed, let us remember that we are called Chriftians after his name, not onely Chriftum: Lo, I am with you, and Spiritum Christi, whom I will fend you from the father, but we have agloua, the very anointing it felf, left and depofited in the Church, as S. Zobin faith. 1-Jh. 2.2. But ye have an Unction from the holy one. If we keep this Un&tion, we are fure of this falvation; therefore grieve not the fpirit of God, refift not the holy ghoft, receive not the grace of God in vain. And fo let the enemy of mankind, and his agents do their worst to annoy us, our falvation 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 eftate, and the fpirituall adverfaries 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 falvation. Verse 14. Thou didst strike through with his staves the head of his villages: they came out as a whirlwind to scatter me: there rejoycing was to devour the poor fecretly. T His, asyou have heard, before in the expofition of the words, hath reference to that victory, which God gave against the Midianites, to his Ifrael. Judg. 7.22. wherein the Lord fet every mans (word against his fellow throughout all the hoaft, for there he ftrook them with their own ftaves, and armed them against themselves to their own ruine. Wherein confider with me two things; SI Their punishment. Their fin. In the punishment we are taught. Hab.3.14. That God in his juft judgment maketh the ungodly rods to Doct. punish one another of them if they have no other enemies but themselves, they fhall go together by the ears amongst themfelves, and fimite one another. This is that which God threatned against the finnes in Ifrael: no man shall spare his brother. He shall fnatch on the right l'ai.19.19. hand, and be hungry, and he shall eat on the left hand, and shall not be fatisfied, they shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm. Manaffeh, Ephraim, and Ephraim, Manaffeh, and they t gether bhall be against Judah. This was the burthen of Egypt. And I will fet the Egyptians against the Egyptians, and lla:.19.2. they shall fight every one against his brother, and every one against his neighbour, City against City, and Kingdome against Kingdome. Vuu 2 In ་ Reaf. 1. Reaf.2. Reaf.3. In the firft of these two places, the Prophet doth foretell how the Tribes fhall fall out among themfelves,and how their greedineffe of wealth and honour hall 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 deftroying one another, we behold the uncertain ftate of ungodly nations, and people, they can have no conftant peace. 1 Because they know not, they serve not the God of peace, and where true Religion doch not unite hearts, they may cry a confederacie, which may hold for 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 thérh." 1 2. Because he would thereby maintain the equity of that naturall law written in every mans heart by the finger of God, Do as thou wouldst be done to its biton Wouldeft thou bee content to be beaten with those ftaves, that thou haft 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 fcourgeth them with their own rods. 3 That we may know that all things in the adminiftration of the world are directed by the wifedome and providence of God, who though he be a God of peace, yet he alfo caufeth divifions and contentions amongst men, and punifheth transgreffours therewith. The ten Kings in the Revelation, which are the 10 horns of of the beaft, that is of Rome. Thefe at first joyn their forces against the Lambe, and fet Revel.17. up the beast. Thefe have one mind, and shall give their strength 13. unto the beast. Ye fe 16. the But in the end. And thefe 10 horns which thou faweft upon i beast,these shal hate the whore and shall make her defolate,and naked, and |