The Shield of Righteousness, Part 4
VER. 4. He will couer thee vnderunder his wings, &c.
NOW the meanes by which God will deliuer his people in their affliction, are, the wing of his fauour and truth of his promiſe, his fauour is here ſpoken of in a metaphore, taken from the Hen, which gathereth her yong ones vnderunder her wings: and this ſimilitude our Sauiour himſelfe vſeth, ſpeaking of the like affection to his people, Math. 23.37. the meaning is, that God is to his Church, as a Hen to her chickens when any danger is neare. For, then he ſpreadeth the feathers of his fauour ouer her: and then he carrieth his tender Church on high vponupon the wing of his prouidence from troubles at hand, Deuter. 32.11.12. Eſay 46.3.4. The Hen, when any danger is toward her yong brood by ſome ſharpe tempeſt, or aires, or deuouring birds of the aire, caſteth her wings abroad for their preſeruation: So when any thing is threatned to Gods little ones by the tempeſts of the time by boiſterous aires, and by Satans outrage in wicked perſons, thoſe impure, (not fowles of the aire,) but beaſts of the earth, God (very preſently and moſt graciouſly) draweth them into a ſecret couer, as it were ſome broad wing of ſafetie from all iniuries of men and diuels. And this he doth by an extraordinarie worke, or ordinarily by his word in the mouth of his ſeruants, which is the wing that hee ſpreadeth ouer them, and call by which he clocketh them to himſelfe in this world. The Doctrine that ariſeth from hence is:
God ſtill watcheth his Church to hide her in his prouidence againſt all troubles and harmes: Doct. And what can the raine and flouds do againſt her whom hee hath builded vponupon himſelfe? Math. 7.24.25. But the people that truſt in Iehouah, are ſo builded: and he attendeth them with his eyes, Pſal. 32.8 and at eueryevery turne helpeth their wandrings. He goeth in and out before them himſelfe, and knoweth all his owne by name, Ioh. 10.3.4. He hath grauen them vponupon the palme of his hands, that is, he can no more forget them, then a man can forget that which he hath continually in hand: and their walls are euer in his ſight, Eſay 49.16. that is, he alwaies looks vponupon them to remember them with ſome turnes of his fauour: and how can they be better watched or ſurer kept? Men that watch a Citie, muſt ſometimes ſleepe: But hee that keepeth Iſrael will neither ſtumber nor ſleepe, Pſal. 121.4. The Reaſons.
Reaſon 1 If birds can do this to their yong, much more God if they that hauehave but receiued this tenderneſſe, much more God that gaue it. Or, is not God nearer to vsus then yong ones are to their damme; We being members of his owne bodie, and the apple of his owne eye? Zachr. 2.8.
Reaſon 2 Secondly, this text that compareth the prouidence of God, I meane that by which he watcheth ouer his Church and peculiar people, to the eye and wings of the Hen that are euer readie to ſuccour her young, doth proue that as his care is alway watchfull for their ſafetie, ſo his power doth neuer ſleepe while their ſafetie is in queſtion.
Vſe 1 A reproofe of fearefull perſons who crie out and faint in light troubles as if they had no helper; and who tye the prouidence of God to the things they ſee, drowning their beſt eye ſight in floods of vnbeliefe, becauſe they ſee not their hope. The little finger of that heauy hand that was vponupon Iob, in the top of Gods fauour and loſſe of all outward things, do…h more wring them, and more vnſettle them, then the whole did him, who (yet) yeelded to God when the ſtorme was at the worſt, ſaying: though he kill me, I will truſt in him, Iob. 13.15. that is in God, who hath broken me, almoſt vntounto death. Some binde the helpe of God ſo to one friend, that if they looſe him, they count all loſt with him: ſome ſo limit his ſto…e to one yeeres crop, that (failing of that) they fare and take on as if his whole ſtore-houſe were emptied: ſome, ſo reſt in theſe vncertaine things of health, beauty, riches, worldly credit and fauour, this and that childe which thy louelove, rather aboue God then in him, that, if he take away one or more (as they be affected to one or many;) they diſpairefully giuegive vp all, and neuer looke for merry houre againe: and ſome, if God caſt them downe by ſickneſſe that hee may take them vp by his gift of health, fret and charge God, as if there were no heauen hereafter. Theſe, and the like fearefull and vnbeleeuers (both) diſcredit Gods prouidence, and falſifie his truth: for, how can they, that be thus minded, beleeue that God hath a continuall eye of care ouer them, and large wing of defence for them when changes come?
A comfort to good Chriſtians, teaching them to expell diſtruſtfull Vſe 2 feare in all alterations: though their enemies bee neuer ſo mighty, yet he, who is their defence on their right hand, is mightier, and they ſhall ſtand inuinſible againſt all men and diuels that would hurt them, Mat. 16.18. Wiſdome hath builded her houſe vponupon ſo many and ſure pillers of Gods defence, that the whole and eueryevery ſtone in it ſtandeth as mount Zion, Prou. 9.1. Pſal. 125.1. that is, eueryevery Chriſtian as well as the whole Church of Chriſtians, is partaker of the ſafeties of Sion. EueryEvery true Chriſtian is a liuing ſtone in this houſe, 1 Pet. 2.5. and therefore if any ſuch Chriſtian, as it were ſtone, ſhould be pulled downe, the whole would come after.
Queſt. You will ſay: but, they are wronged, Queſt. and ſore thruſt at, and ſometimes ſlaine?
Anſw. To which I anſwer; firſt, for their wronges, Anſw. that it is not meant that no man ſhould wrong them, but that no mans wrongs ſhould quell them: and for aſſaults: it is certaine they hauehave been and ſhall be aſſaulted daily, but God will put vnderunder his ſtrong hand that they ſhall not be ouercome, 2 Cor. 4.8, 9. and Chriſt denieth not but Men may kill their bodies; yet the comfort is: they that kill their bodies, cannot damne their ſoules: when they hauehave gone ſo farre, they can goe no farther, Mat. 10.28. Wiſedome foreſaw all this; and therefore did ſhe build her Caſtle ſo ſtrong, Prou. 9.1. If (then) the world be thy enemie becauſe thou ſheweſt thy ſelfe in a good cauſe, feare it not, nor all that it can make againſt thee. for, he that is in thee is greater then he that is in the world, 1 Ioh. 4▪4. his power is alwaies exerciſed for thy preſeruation: hee that ſet thee on worke will helpe thee: and who is ſo mighty as the Almighty? If God ſend ſickneſſe, (ſay it bee that of the Peſtilence,) which is alwaies fearefull and (for the moſt part) deadly; and, if this ſickneſſe, ſo ſent, light vponupon thee; thou haſt no reaſon to caſt away thy confidence, in the greateſt terrors of it: for, if (with Dauid when, by Abſalom, his rebellious ſonne, he was baniſhed from the Arke and Tabernacle thereof at Ieruſalem,) thou reſigne vp all into Gods hands, thy life or death as pleaſeth him, 2 Sam. 15.25, 26. thou haft as good aſſurance as may be, being kept by that viſitation, as by a chaine, from the Arke of the publick Miniſterie, and from the Tabernacle thereof, the great congregation; either to bee reſtored to the earthly Ieruſalem, the houſe in which the publick Miniſter and people praiſe God together; or, by thy preferment in death, to hauehave thy ſoule carried vp to the Ieruſalem aboue, where thou ſhalt praiſe him without ceaſing (perfectly) in his owne preſence with Angels and Saints innumerable. Though men forſake thee, God will tarrie with thee by his comforts in thy fleſh, and by his ſpirit in thy heart, Iohn 14.23. when thy houſe is ſhut vp, God (that cannot be ſhut vp) will prouide a large walke for thee in the pleaſant gallery of thy good conſcience: when men write, Lord hauehave mercy on the doore, he will ſhew mercy within doores: when men keepe thee darke, he will giuegive thee light: when they cloſe vp the windowes of thy chamber, he will ſet open the windowes of his Kingdome: and, when they go from thee, he will come vntounto thee, & ſup with thee, Apoc. 3.20. When God reſtraineth the fruits of the earth by keeping in his raine, or by giuing it in exceſs, with the breaking open of the flood-gates of his waters; he hath his Boaz of ſecret prouidence, as (long agoe) for godly Ruth, Ruth 2.8 9. ſo (ſtill) for his faithfull children that they may eate, and their ſoules may liue. And, when the wicked, who hauehave not God for their hiding place, ſhall, vponupon the bruite of eueryevery calamitie and croſſe comming, runne hither and thither as men without hope, or diſtracted; thou, knowing in whom thou haſt beleeued, maieſt hide thee with the feathers of Gods truth and faithfulneſſe, and goe to thy Father, Luke 15.18. the words that follow, are, in effect, the ſame that the words are, which we laſtly heard, and the repetition is ſafe for vsus, Philip. 3.1. for, therefore doth God ſpeake twice that we might heare him once: and becauſe, through our imperfect ſtate of faith, we come fearefully, as vponupon the waters, with Peter to Chriſt in long, and great troubles, Mat. 14.29, 30. therefore are the words doubled that we might hauehave the ſtronger conſolation. So much for the firſt of the meanes by which God will deliuer his people in affliction. The ſecond, and more principall followeth.
His truth ſhall be thy ſhield and buckler.
BY the truth of God, is meant the truth and faithfulneſſe that is in all his promiſes; or the truth of his promiſe, and truth in his word. He that hath promiſed is faithfull: but if I would know how much he hath promiſed, to whom, and vnderunder what termes; I muſt bring all my conſiderations to his word, as to his onelyonly or beſt ſeale and ſtandard. By it al his truth is allowed as vnderunder ſeale, and meaſured truly as at a iuſt ſtandard, and this truth is one with the word, or with Gods truth in his word, Iohn 17.17. Alſo; this truth is called the godly mans ſhield & buckler, becauſe it is as a ſhield & buckler vntounto him againſt al the arrowe-heads & thruſts of affliction, & ſo wardeth the blowes of thoſe croſſes that come in the Peſtilence, in ſickneſſes, in malicious enemies, & in other troubles of bodie or minde, that they ſhall not ſtrike him to death, or turne him to hurt; taking, in his defence by faith, the promiſe and truth of God for his ſhield and buckler.
So, the meaning is: they that keepe within the compaſſe of Doct. 1 Gods ſure word, can neuer take hurt. And it teacheth that the truth of GodbLam. 3.22 cannot faile, and what he hath promiſed, ſhall bee done. Blinde Balaam, in his Parable, could ſay, ſhewing how true God is (alway) of his word: hath he ſaid it, and ſhall hee not doe it? as if he had ſaid: may it be that Gods words and deedes ſhould not meete? or, will any beleeue that he cau ſay one thing, and doe another? or, if he lack not will, doth he want power to doe as he ſaith? for, hath he ſpoken, and ſhall he not accompliſh it? ſhall any thing hinder his purpoſe, or weaken his power? So, where by Hoſea the Lord ſaith I am God and not man: Hoſea 11.9. what can his meaning be, but that, being God, hee changeth not like one of vsus, and repenteth not like man? In Malachi, he putteth himſelfe to the triall, asking the ſonnes of Iacob if it were not ſo: for he ſaith, I change not, and yee ſonnes of Iacob are not conſumed, Malac. 3.6. as if he had ſaid; I promiſed, not to conſume you: and you can tell I hauehave kept promiſe with you; for ye are not conſumed to this day; ſo, I change not, your ſelues being iudges. Now, as God repenteth not; ſo his gifts and calling; that is, the peculiar endowments of his elect, linked together (vnſeparably) in their ſaluation, are without repentance; that is, are neuer taken from them, Rom. 11.29. And, he that hath promiſed, is faithfull, I. Cor. 10 13. ſaith the Apoſtle: his meaning is, that he is not (at times) but (alway) ſo: or, alway iuſt in word, and euer faithfull. Mens promiſes are yea and nay; his promiſes are yea, and Amen, 2 Cor. 1.20. when it is ſaid it is done, if he ſpeake the word; but wee ſay and vn-ſay; and ſo, ſay and doe not. The reaſons:
Reaſon 1 It is ſealed that God is true: and Chriſt, ſpeaking of himſelfe, as God, ſaith: I am truth, Iohn 3.33. and Iohn 14.6. that is, to be true, or (rather) to be truth, is of his being: and therefore to denie his word, is to denie himſelfe: but God cannot denie himſelfe: and therefore God cannot but keepe his word.
Reaſon 2 Secondly, God cannot breake by vnfaithfulneſſe, Rom. 3.3. for, he is righteous: nor be hindred by weakneſſe, for he is Almighty, 1. Ruth 21. Apoc. 1.8. He promiſed the land of Canaan to Abraham; and all the rebellions of his children could not make him to falſifie his word; but at the time appointed, they received the promiſes, and inherited the land: ſo he promiſed Iſraels deliuerance from Aegypt, and returne from Babylon; and hee brake not an houre with them: and when the fulneſſe of time came that God ſhould ſend his ſonne, he ſent him: Gal. 4.4. and when it was time he ſhould come, he came: as he kept touch with Abraham for a ſonne, Geneſ. 21.1. ſo hee kept his word truly with vsus for the ſending of his owne ſonne.
Reaſon 3 Thirdly, God when he ſweareth, ſweareth by himſelfe; not only cauſe he hath no greater to ſweare by, but becauſe hee changeth not, as an oath is immutable, Heb. 6.18.
An admonition, not to diſtruſt God, any way, where hee hath Vſe 1 giuen his word for our ſafetie and welfare: for, if it be intollerable to diſcredit an honeſt man in his word; how intollerable is it to call Gods truth into queſtion? If then God hauehave promiſed to thoſe that feare him, that nothing ſhall bee wanting vntounto them, Pſal. 34.9. let not ſuch doubt, in the wants of many, to bee prouided for. In the wilderneſſe, he plowed the heauens for his children, and fed them with the bread of heauen. Pſal. 78.24. ſo, they that followed Chriſt were fed by miracle, in the faile of meanes, Ioh. 6.11.12.13.14. If the furnace of Peſtilence be heated ſeuen times, yet God can make his children to walke in the fire of it without hurt, as his three ſeruants did in the fierie fornace, and were not touched, Dan. 3.19.25.27. and, when thou canſt ſee no way through the red ſea of thy many and great troubles, the deliuerer of his people can make one, Exod. 14.21.22. ſtand ſtill in the meane ſeaſon, and thou ſhalt ſee the ſaluation of God, verſe 13: beleeue that God will doe what hee hath promiſed; and what hee hath promiſed, he will doe vntounto thee. But, that thou maieſt not miſtake by that hope that maketh haſte, which is the hypocrites hope, and not that branch that groweth vponupon the tree of faith; remember that the Lord is otherwiſe to be found in trouble then he hath promiſed, and that his promiſe is no other then that which is written in his word, Pſal. 119.114. & 73.17. they that know not it, know not what he hath promiſed, nor wherein hee will deliuer them: for, it onelyonly is Gods mouth and Oracle to his people in troubleſome times. They (therefore) who hauehave beene ill hearers or deſpiſers of the word in their good daies, when the euill day is come, and God meeteth with them in the burning Peſtilence or ſome other way, as he doth with thoſe that contemne his ſeruice, or careleſly ſerue him, Exod 5.3. cannot tell whither to turne, or what to doe: for, they cannot raiſe themſelues with the truth of God, which they know not: and they muſt needes ſinke vnderunder his iudgements which the feele. Let them conſider, that neuer care to reade in the word, their ſoule may fall into trouble: and where is their comfort in trouble, when the word is ſo ſtrange a Goſpel to them? Gods ſhield is in his word, and Gods truth is his word: being (then) ignorant of the word, in the day of thy affliction: where is his ſhield to defend thee? and his truth, to be thy buckler of defence againſt Satans accuſations that peirce thy ſoule, and the worlds-armies of vexations that gall thy fleſh?
Ʋſe 2 Alſo, in Gods example (here) wee hauehave what to follow, if we will be followers of God as deare children, Epheſ. 5.1. for, doth God keepe all his promiſes? then, we learne to be iuſt in ours, and like our heauenly Father, Mat. 5.45. That we may bee ſo, we muſt take heede of that raſhneſſe of mouth which is in many; whoſe mouthes talke of vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of falſhood, Pſal. 144.8. that is, who promiſe largely, ſhaking hands vponupon the ſame; and keepe no promiſe. But a Chriſtian ſhould keepe his promiſe, though to his hinderance, Pſal. 15.4. and, he that will be a follower of God, muſt follow him in the true performance of his ſayings. And, (here) as Peter ſaid to Ananias; whiles it remained, appertained it not to thee? that is, was it not in thy power to giuegive it, or to keepe it? hee ſpeaketh of the money that he (diſſemblingly) gaue, Act. 5.4. ſo before the word goe out of our mouth, we are at liberty to promiſe, or not; but, when our word is paſt, our lawfull word is our bond in heauen to all our promiſes: which, if it hold vsus not, wee lie not vntounto men, that is to men onelyonly, but vntounto God: know (therefore) that Gods law bindeth a Chriſtian to keepe his oath, and lawfull promiſes: and that, though man cannot, God can and doth take hold of our words ſo ſoone as they goe out of the dores of our lippes. And, though mans law meddle not with trifling promiſes; Gods law condemneth for idle words, Mat. 12.36. which would bee conſidered of thoſe that followe not God, but the winde in their promiſes: And, what conſtancie is there, in the winde? ſo much there is in ſuch mens promiſes. Hence it is, that as when the winde bloweth, we heare a ſound, but nothing that we can hold: ſo when promiſes are made by ſome, we may heare ſound of words, as of wind; but, beſide words that we cānot hold, there is nothing to hold by but a blaſt of promiſes that change with wind & weather. And ſo, as words are called wind, their promiſes are no better. But this is meant of promiſes that be lawfull, & in our power: for, vnlawfull, are better broken then kept. I call them vnlawfull, when they tend to another mans hurt, or the Common-Wealths hinderance: as when a true Man, in his feare, promiſeth to a Theefe that will ſpare him, to bring him ſuch a ſumme of money, at a day, the promiſe is not to be kept, becauſe it is to the common-wealths hurt to feede ſuch a viper in the boſome of it, and not (onelyonly) to his owne particular loſſe. And Dauid ſpeaketh not of the generall, but of a mans own hinderance in the caſe of keeping promiſes, bound with an oath. Alſo, we may not hurt our brother, whether we be in bonds to that harme, or at libertie. But, though it be to our owne hurt, and an oath be gotten of vsus (though deceitfully) to it, we muſt do as we hauehave ſworne; that it may appeare we hauehave a greater feeling of Gods diſhonour then of our owne loſſe and hinderance. Other deſcriptions of the Plague of Peſtilence follow.