He croucheth; he digs through a wall; he springs a mine, and gets a den; finds out a hell from whence to murder the innocent. (Psalm x. 8, 9, 10) And this not to resist or accuse only, but utterly to destroy; to turn head, and hand, and feet, and the whole body, into very firebrands. This was And he hath been at this work once and again. not the first time he had been resisted or rebuked. by water in that Invincible Armada in 1588. And now by fire more terrible than that of Babylon; which would not have left so much as a brand remaining; which, in the twinkling of an eye, would have done more mischief, than three score and ten years' captivity in Babylon. But God be blessed, we were not as a brand in this fire, but as Moses's bush, not consumed; as the three children, not so much as singed by it:-that out of this fire, not a few brands, but many goodly cedars, and the vine, the weakest of trees, the poor church of Christ amongst us, was not plucked up, but preserved from it; God's mercy preventing Satan's malice, and making their own tongue to fall upon themselves, and by that little mercy which was in one of these bloody men, to snatch one brand out of this fire, quenching the flame which would have devoured all the rest : so inconsistent was this villany with a dram of mercy. And all this not for our worthiness, but for his own free grace, because he loved England, and chose it for a place to set his name in. And blessed be his name, that notwithstanding all Romish attempts and machinations, we have had his presence, and the true reformed religion, in the midst of this nation, for now a full hundred years; for so long it is from November 17, 1588, since Queen Mary died, and that glorious princess Elizabeth, succeeded in her throne. In this month, were her fires quenched; and in this month was this fire quenched; the eyes of the Lord running through the earth, to shew himself strong in behalf of this poor nation. And now what remains, but being thus delivered, and yet through God's mercy in the possession of the reformed religion (the Lord knows how long that yet may last) we should betake ourselves to the duties here mentioned by the prophet. 1. To stand before the Lord,' to have our eye still upon him, to attend his will, to listen to his commands, to wait on his worship, to aim at his glory, to have our mouths and hearts filled with the praises of his name; who hath made us not as firebrands plucked out of the burning, (Amos iv. 11) but preserved us from it. 2. To put off our filthy garments,' to bewail the woful provocations of all orders of men amongst us; to make haste and be zealous to purge the house of God of those sad corruptions which have defaced it, and of that woful leaven of heresy, which threatens to sour the whole lump. 3. To get change of raiment,' to be clothed with the garments of praise, with the long white robe of Christ's righteousness, that our nakedness be not discovered; to worship the Lord in the beauties of holiness. 4. To walk in God's ways, and to keep his charge; to be zealous and conscionable in all our peculiar duties; to hold fast those wholesome truths, which the Lord hath so long continued unto us. We know how busy foreign emissaries are, who are said to swarm among us, under a disguise, and, in a mysterious way, to infuse their doctrines into the minds of credulous and seduced people. We see what hideous errors are every where broached; what contempt is poured out upon a learned and faithful ministry; what dishonour is cast upon magistrates, as if it belonged not either to their power, or duty, to take care either of the truth, or worship of God in their territories; what immense and boundless license men take to write, print, publish the most horrid opinions without check or controul; what sad effects this infinite liberty hath produced, in some atheism, in others scepticism, in others apostasy, in others sad divisions, jealousies, animosities; scarce any face left of that Christian love and holy communion, which heretofore shined in the assemblies of professors: what woful symptoms we have of God's threatening to remove our candlestick and his glory from us! calling home to himself many eminent ambassadors in the church; laying aside many worthy and religious patriots in the state; exercising his ministers that remain, with the reproaches and defamings of many: our leaving our first love, and former zeal for the truths of God; the doleful confusions and changes in the state; governments changing, as it were, with the moon; up one month, and down another. Certain ly, it is through the wrath of the Lord of hosts that a land is darkened it is for the transgression of a land, that many are the princes thereof. It was a forerunner of a final wrath amongst the ten tribes, when God left them to pull down one another. Oh what need have we to be awakened, to lay these things to heart, to prepare to meet the Lord h, to do our first works , to revive the ancient communion of saints, to awaken the spirit of prayer; and to cry mightily unto God, to spare his people, and not to give his heritage unto reproach! To receive the truth in love', and to contend earnestly for the faith, once delivered unto the saints; to use all holy endeavours in our places and stations, to keep the glorious presence of the Lord still amongst us; to prove all things”, and hold fast that which is good; to try the spirits, whether they be of God; to provoke one another P, to speak often to one another; not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together. It may be, the Lord will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him." That so we, whom the malice of Satan and wicked men would gladly make brands, may, by God's blessing, be trees of righteousness', the planting of the Lord; that the spirit blowing upon our garden", the spices thereof may flow out*, and our beloved may delight in us, and eat his pleasant fruit. So shall the enemies of the church always find, that he whose name is the Branch,' will still be too hard for the furnace of Egypt, for the staff of the oppressor. That he who is a stone' with eyes, will make his church a burdensome stone to all, that set themselves against it. That he will so watch over this land, while it continues Emmanuel's land d, that we shall still, as the prophet Isaiah speaks, (Chap. xxv. 15) Glorify the Lord in the fires, even the name of the Lord God of Israel, in the Isles of the sea." a THE MISERY OF A DESERTED PEOPLE: Opened in a SERMON preached at St. Paul's, before the Lord Mayor, Aldermen, and Common-Council, December 2, 1659. Being a day of solemn humiliation by them appointed. HOSEA ix. 12. -Yea, wo also to them when I depart from them. We find in the law of Moses, that, in several cases, the priests of the Lord were to sound the trumpets unto the people, to summon and awaken them unto the special duties which God called for. (Numb. x. 1-10) And, in like manmer, the Lord commandeth his prophets "to lift up their voice like a trumpet, and to set the trumpet unto their mouth." (Isa. lviii. 1. Hos. viii. 1) One end of blowing the trumpet, was to give warning to the people of any approaching danger, that they might timely prevent and escape it. (Joel ii. 1) "Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in mine holy mountain : let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand." This is one special duty of spiritual watchmen. (Jer. vi. 17) "I set watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the sound of the trumpet." "Son of man," saith the Lord to the prophet, "I have set thee a watchman to the house of Israel, therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me." (See Ezek. xxxiii. 2-9) As Elisha gave the king of Israel warning of the king of Syria's counsels against him. (2 Kings vi. 9) This charge Jehoshaphat gave unto the priests and Levites, that they should "warn the people not to transgress," lest wrath come upon them and their brethren. (2 Chron. xix. 10) When ruin was hanging over Nineveh, Jonah is com' manded to cry against it. (Jonah i. 2) Crying sins call for crying preachers; and when he slept in that terrible tempest which was upon the ship, the master of the ship awakened him; "What ailest thou, O sleeper? Arise and call upon thy God." (Jonah i. 6) We have had amongst us the confused noise of the battle of the warrior, and garments rolled in blood; the noise of the rattling of wheels, and of the prancing of horses, and of the jumping of the chariots, of the bright sword, and the glittering spear. And this should have awakened us to return, and to seek the Lord. For certainly, it is through the Lord's wrath, that the people of a land are as the fuel of fire, no man sparing his brother.< But his anger is not turned away, his hand is stretched out still. And if our ears were well awakened, I fear we should hear a more dreadful noise than that of the warrior, the noise of the wings of the living creatures; (Ezek. i. 24) the glory of the Lord in his church, threatening to depart from us; as he did from his people Judah. (Ezek. ix. 3, and x. 18, 19, and xi. 22, 23) I have therefore made choice of these words of this trumpet-sounding prophet Hosea, that we may be awakened to cry mightily unto God, and to hold him fast, and not let him go; to repent, and do our first works, lest he come quickly and remove our candlestick out of his place; as he threatened to do unto the church of Ephesus. (Rev. ii. 4, 5) In this chapter, we have an enumeration of several sins of that people, and several judgements denounced against the same. The sins are, 1. Idolatry, going from God, ascribing their plenty to their superstition. (ver. 1, 10, 15) 2. Entertaining and believing false prophets. (ver. 7, 8) 3. Profundity of desperate wickedness, as that of Gibeah. (Judges xix. 9) 4. Carnal confidence and security. (ver. 1, 13) 5. Wickedness of prophets, who should teach others. (ver. 7,8) Of princes, who should punish others, (ver. 15) and of the people. (ver. 17) And all these sins aggravated by God's ancient love unto them. (ver. 10) The punishments denounced, (ver. 9) and now presently impending, (ver. 7) 1. Scarcity of corn and wine, which they promised themselves by their idolatry. (ver. 1, 2) 2. a Isai. ix. 15. Nahum iii. 2, 3. Isai. ix. 19. |