A Century of Sermons, Sermon 6
A SERMON Preached before the KING at WHITE-HALL, the 5. of April 1665. UPON THE SOLEMN FAST, To crave a Bleſſing of GOD for his MAJESTIES NAVAL FORCES.
NEHEM. i. 4.
And it came to paſs when I heard theſe words, that I ſat down and wept, and mourned certain dayes, and faſted and prayed before the God of Heaven.
WE have many Solemn dayes in the year to remember the noble Works of our Saviour. But the Church hath ſet forth no proper day, to mind us how He will come to judgment in the end of the World. Is not that an overſight, will ſome ſay, that there is no red letter in the Calender, to bring the Object of that mighty Judgment before us, that it may not be forgotten? Hear the reaſon, and I know you will excuſe it. All the beneficial Works of our Saviour came to paſs upon certain days of the year, whoſe revolution is known, or eaſily gueſſed at: and thoſe days are exactly kept with holy diligence. But for the Day of Judgment it is kept ſecret, ſo that the Angels of Heaven are ignorant of it. Therefore to keep one ſolemn day recurrent every year, for an admonition that ſuch a dreadful hour is to come, were in a ſort to preſcribe God to an appointed time, who muſt not be preſcribed.
If any preſs it further, and ſay, Shall we then have no ſolemn opportunity to learn that capital Leſſon, that Chriſt will come in the clouds with power and great glory to call the Earth before him? Far be that omiſſion from us. For to what end ſervs a publick Faſt, but to prepare us all to hear that voice, Behold the Bridegroom cometh, go ye forth to meet him? This is the day wherein every tender conſcience ſhould feel the Ax laid to the root of the Tree. Now the whole Kingdom ſtands as it were at the Bar to be arraigned before the Majeſty of God. We come to call our ſelvs to judgment before Chriſt calls us, to prevent him. Here we are met, not to juſtify our ſelves (O God forbid!) but to confeſs the evil we have done, that we may not ſuffer the evil we have deſerved. They are mighty ſins which we come to deplore; not only the iniquities of this place, though great and exemplary: not the ſins of the great City alone, though it abound in people and wickedneſs, but the innumerous contagious crying ſins of this Nation, of this England, for which, and whoſe pardon, we come to make our mournful ſupplication.
Now to teach you to ſtear your courſe by a Godly inſtance, I lay my matter among the Servants of God in the Land of Judah, of whom I could have told you, that when they were in fear of bad Neighbours round about them, kept a general Humiliation for all the People, Nehem. ix. 1. The People faſted in ſackcloth, and caſt aſhes upon their heads. But I know where I am: and I will rather inſtruct you from the Pattern of Nehemiah, called the Tirſhata, a mighty Prince among the People, who was ſo zealous for the proſperity of his Country, that you can ſcarce match him, with all that went before him. Moſes was the Grandfather of Iſrael, that brought them out of the Captivity of Egypt: Nehemiah was their Co founder or Foſter father, who repaired the ruins of the Captivity of Babylon. The Text ſhews what he did in the beginning of his zeal, to appeaſe the anger of the Lord. In two general parts I will diſcover his piety, which I call the wound of his heart, and the cure of that wound: the occaſion of his humiliation, and the humiliation it ſelf. The wound of his heart was given by evil tydings, It came to paſs when I heard theſe words; which afflicted him two wayes; firſt for the ruins which the Land had ſuffered; ſecondly for the impediments of its reparation. The care of the Wound conſiſts in five degrees of humiliation. 1. He ſat down; 2. He wept; 3. He mourned certain dayes; 4. He faſted; 5. He played before the God of Heaven. That God that gives many Medicines to heal the ſickneſs of the Body, hath provided theſe ſacred Remedies to heal the troubles of the Soul. I riſe up now from the firſt ſtep, Nehemiah was ſore perplexed to hear what the Land had ſuffered.
Upon which I begin with this Obſervation, that he was in great anguiſh, not for any evil which he ſaw, but with bad tidings, and grievous reports, as it is juſt before my Text, The Remnant of Iſrael were in great affliction and reproach, the Wall of Jeruſalem was broken down, and the Gates burnt with fire. This is ſhort and ſowr, yet far ſhort of the total of their tribulation. Howſoever Nehemiah ſaw none of this; he was at Babylon when theſe Tragedies were acted at Jeruſalem; he heard of their diſtreſs, but was not upon the place to behold it: yet the noiſe that came to his ears did ſtrike his heart, that he ſat down and wept.
So open your bowels, and condole like Chriſtians, when you hear of one anothers miſeries, though they be far from you, elſe God will draw them nearer. I will name the remoteſt to you, the mournful condition of the Servants of Chriſt in Hungary, Dalmatia, Greece, and Candia under the Mahumetan cruelty, though theſe are a thouſand leagues from you, yet joyn them cloſe to you in your Prayers and Compaſſion. Let me come home; we are not upon the Seas to day with our illuſtrious Duke and valiant Country-men, we are not in peril of Wracks and Storms, and roaring Canons as they are: but let our Prayers walk upon the Seas unto them, as Peter aſſayed to go to Chriſt, that as they hazard their lives for us, we offer up our Souls to God for them. To deſcend to lower Objects; you do not ſee the hard food of the Poor, his ſorry Table, his dry Morſels: you do not ſee the comfortleſs Lodging and Dungeon of the Captive. Theſe are the Bleſſings of Wealth and Liberty. Yea, but do you not conſider it ſometimes, and bewail, and extend your hand to relieve it? if not ſome of us may know what hunger and captivity mean, if the report of thoſe things in others do not cauſe you to melt in charity. Nehemiah did not ſee much evil, yet the report toucht him near, and he ſat down and wept.
My next Obſervation is, that as he did not ſee the evil of the Land of Judah, ſo he could not feel it. If all Jeruſalem had been burnt to aſhes it had not broke him in his fortune, nor eclipſed him in his honour. He was a Courtier in the Palace of Artaxerxes, his Cup-bearer, a dignified Officer: no weeping news could diminiſh his greatneſs. Had he been a ſelf-lover, like too many of theſe dayes, a cunning Courtier, that had no end but to provide for himſelf, then he would have meaſured all fortune by his own Laſt, and unleſs his own perſon had been toucht, the Shoo ſhould not have wrung him. But here was one reteining to the holy Court indeed, to the Court of Heaven: his own proſperity did diſreliſh with him, becauſe Gods anger was upon the Land , to which he owed his life. He did like a good man, to involve himſelf in the publick fortune. And what joy could he take in his Honours with Artaxerxes when reproach had ſpread upon the Country that bred him, and upon the Church of God, in which he lookt for ſalvation? He that makes light of common danger, with tuſh, they are on the Seas, I am on the Land, I ſhall ſhift for one, that man is the faireſt mark, at whom God will ſuddenly ſhoot with a ſwift arrow, becauſe he is in love with his own ſecurity. Nehemiah could have ſhifted for one, but that did not content him. When it is beſt with our ſelves, then it is ſafeſt to fear, then to ſeek the Lord, and to beſeech him for the welfare of our ſelves and others. Health, and plenty, and eaſe have not yet forſaken us: yet the blaſts of bad rumours and preſages are about us. When you hear ſuch words it is time to mourn, and faſt, and pray before the God of Heaven.
Hitherto I have treated that Nehemiah bewailed the ſufferings paſt, my next obſervation is upon another matter, that when by Gods hand the repair was very hopeful, it grieved him that the miſchievous attempts of envious unlucky Neighbours did all that they could to ſtop the remedy; which is juſt our caſe. God ſent this Tirſhata, this mighty man, to build up the holy City again out of the ruines under which it was covered: but it grieved their Neighbours over the next River, Chap. ii. 9. (as ours are over the next Seas,) that there came a man to ſeek the welfare of Iſrael, Ver. 10. Mark their conditions who they were: Sanballat of Samaria, and Samaria had long been the neſt of Rebellion. Tobiah the ſervant, an Ammonite, a man ſervile, low born, of baſe extraction. Geſhem the Arabian: and the Arabians were great Thieves by Land, as our Foes are Arabians upon the waters. Theſe Samaritans, Ammonites, Arabians, (Rebels and Thieves baſely deſcended) maligned the proſperity of Jeruſalem, when it began to flouriſh again under Nehemiah.
And note their ſhifts, and half witted devices to oppoſe him: Firſt, They fell to mocking and ſcoffing, Chap. iv. 1. Scurrility is to be expected from ſuch as are bred up in the rudeneſs of a populacy. Secondly, At the eighth verſe of the fourth Chapter they made ready to fight him: but hearing his preparations ſhewed their teeth, and never proceeded. Thirdly, Chap. vi. 8. they raiſed ſcandalous reports againſt the Ruler, and the People: and how our Maligners would deſame us with broaching lies, Europe, and all the world are witneſs. Fourthly, At the thirteenth verſe of that Chapter they hired Prophets to Propheſie againſt Nehemiah, to put him in fear: and if we would be diſcouraged by ſuch fictions, they have not been wanting. Theſe were troubles which fell upon the noble heart of Nehemiah, to ſee that bleſſing, which God had begun by his induſtry, croſs'd and check'd by an ignoble and ſervile Generation: So may our renowned Prince and General ſay, in diſdain at this upſtart bog of men, whoſe Noble Perſon is of more value than all their Provinces eſtimated at a rackt value, Et mecum certaſſe ferentur? Unleſs England had given them being and a power to reſiſt, they had not been able this day to have reſiſted the meaneſt of the Captains of my Lord the King. To diſpatch this Point, though our Kingdom hath no reſemblance to Pharaoh and the Egyptians, God be praiſed, yet our Plagues and thoſe of Egypt have ſome parallel in their order. Their firſt Plague was the Plague of bloud: ſo was ours; but God hath delivered us from the continual ſlaughters of a moſt impious and rebellious War. Paſs from the end of the ſeventh Chapter of Exodus to the beginning of the eighth, the next immediately is the Plague of Frogs: So is ours croaking in the dirty ditches of the Netherlands, which by the Rod of Moſes, and the Prayer of Aaron, will be ſent away to remain only in their own River, Ver. 9. And when they are remanded to their own ſinks and Marſhes, God deliver us from the Plague of Locuſts, in the Apocalyps, that overſpread this Land.
Before I ſhut up the ſorrows of Nehemiah, I conſider what will be ſaid by ſome, that we are in no diſtreſs as Jeruſalem was, no foreign Foe hath brought us under, the malice of an unthankful ſtock of men hath not ſo much as ſhaken our welfare. Our Walls are the ſame, which the Oracle commended to the Athenians, Walls of wood, well-built Ships, maintained and multiplied for the honour and ſafeguard of the Iſland. The Gates of Jeruſalem, before they were burnt down, were their Courts of Juſtice: for their Elders ſate in the Gate when they did right between party and party: And ſuch Gates we have ſtanding inviolate in their ancient dignity and priviledge, that the poor may not be oppreſſed by him that is too mighty for him. O happy if we knew it, and were thankful, that our Walls of defence and fortitude, and our Courts of Juſtice are unimpaired and flouriſh.
Yet for all this, as Nehemiah heard words that aſtoniſhed him, ſo foul blaſts and tempeſts beat ſore upon our ears, which (if God help not) may drive us upon the Rocks. Where can you converſe abroad and not hear ſuch talk as may provoke a Godly man to faſt, and mourn, and pray before the God of Heaven? My ears are grated with our modern Scepticks, diſputants againſt the Creation of the world out of nothing, againſt the ſacred authority of the Scriptures, againſt the immortality of the ſoul of man. While ſuch diſpute it ſharply the Devil ſits in the Chair to moderate. Such ſawcy, petulant, pedling wits diſhonour God, and theſe triumphing days, wherein we live. Beſides, what filthy obſcene language is in the tongues of our Gallants? What cuſtomary ſwearing? What little reverence to that holy Name which ſhould not be prophaned in a ſyllable? What harmony is ſo ſweet as to have incorrupt Religion and nothing elſe maintained in this Nation, ſo wonderfully cleanſed now for the ſpace of about one hundred and twenty years from abſolute ſuperſtition? If Popery then be ſlickt over with cunning words: if ſuch jet about in every corner, as will extol that Babyloniſh trumpery, and reproach our Reformation to our face, will it not ſtir us up to a publick bewailment, and mourning in the ſight of God? Put to theſe baſe detractions of right worthy Patriots, who deſerve all honour for the preſent, and a glorious memory hereafter, and heap up all with malignant whiſperings, ungrateful murmurings, and the whole riff-raff of vain talk, are not theſe fore runners of a likely woe if we do not ſeek our heavenly Father betimes? If we do not keep in our evil tongues, God will ring his judgments into our deaf ears. And though our enemies have not a ſpark of goodneſs in them, whereby they ſhould deſerve to be Lords over us: yet there may be ſo much wickedneſs among us, that it may be our puniſhment to be kept under by them. I am not afraid of the puiſſance of other Kingdoms, for any ſtore of vertue that I can hear is among them: the whole World is out of frame, and ſet upon miſchief. But we may expect the heavy hand of the Lord among us where he hath ſown ſo much pure Goſpel, and reapt ſo little obedience. So I have paſſed over the firſt part of my Text, the cauſe of Nehemiahs humiliation applied to our ſelves, And it came to paſs when I heard theſe words, &c.
His humiliation ſhall now be offered to your inſtruction in five paſſes or degrees, beginning with his poſture of ſorrow, that he ſate down. I call it a poſture of ſorrow: for ſo it is in this place. In caſes of great heavineſs it doth not ſignifie to repoſe the body in a ſeat of eaſe, but to ſink down to the ground, and to ſit upon the earth. His legs could not bear the weight of his ſorrows, and he caſt himſelf upon the ground. You ſhall have ſome Texts of Scripture to confirm it. Job overladen with miſery ſate down among the aſhes, Chap. ii. 8. The King of Ninivey in dread of Gods anger, roſe up from his Throne, covered himſelf with Sackcloth, and ſate in aſhes, Jon. iii. 6. And when the evil day of Captivity was coming, the Daughter of Sion ſate upon the ground, Lam. ii. 10. So that in the firſt place you ſee Nehemiah began at the right end, abaſing himſelf to this vile Element, upon which we tread, and expounding the Lords word in his own practice, Duſt thou art, and unto duſt ſhalt thou return.
In the ſeaſons of joy and proſperity it is hard to bring a man into a right meditation what he is. Then his imaginations are upon a Pinacle, or he is flying in the air. I hope therefore you will take out this Leſſon better a great deal upon this day of common affliction. Now I truſt you will perceive that this Tabernacle of fleſh in all the ſpangles and trappings of pride is but a muckhill, or ſuch rubbiſh as we ſtop our noſe at in the dung cart: or at the beſt, that which the cleanly will not endure in their Chambers, duſt. Therefore affliction is moſt natural to us, which brings us to our proper Center, and makes us ſit upon the earth. As who ſhould ſay, we are but Worms creeping upon the ground, enter not into judgment with thy ſervants, who are nothing in thy ſight. O where can we find ſo fit a place to receive us, conſidering the abundance of iniquity which is in us, as the bare ground? Is there any pure metal in us? Are we not all droſs? And whither ſhould that be caſt but into the high ways? Do we not diſhonour the name of Chriſtian, and turn the grace of God to wan…onneſs? And if the ſalt have loſt his ſavour, is it good for any thing but to be caſt out and trodden under foot?
But alas, we are ill prepared for this godly exerciſe of affliction: There is no thought in this Age of ſitting down upon the ground. Our ears are deaf to our Saviours Leſſon, Luk. xiv. 10. Go and ſit down in the loweſt room. That is a Parable, and we luſt not to know the meaning. David ſays, Pſal. xl. 2. Mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, that I am not able to look up: but our iniquities do take ſuch hold upon us, …hat we do nothing but look up. Was ever ambition ſo forward as in theſe times? What ſtriving, what ſtreining to come aloft? Yet if aſpiring after Promotion brought no other miſchief but this one to the ſoul, it were enough to condemn it, that it carries a man into a ſtrange Land, quite into another Region, far diſtant from humility, or from godly ſorrow and repentance: It knows not the way to ſit down and to be dejected to the earth; and yet to none elſe but ſuch will our Saviour ſay, Friend go up higher.
Another obſervation on this Point is, that when ſorrows came hudling upon Nehemiah, and fell as thick as hail, he ſate down, which is an evidence of patience, that he ſubmitted himſelf under the hand of the Lord. It is our modern phraſe to expreſs the humour of a man, who ſtruggles to repel an injury, that he will not ſit down by it. But this ſervant of the Lord in my Text had no quarrel againſt the providence of his Maker, let the cup of judgment be never ſo bitter, which he was to drink; he was quiet and ſate down. He knew we are all as clay in the hand of the Potter, and ſhall the Veſſel ſay to him that framed it, what makeſt thou? Gods judgments are wonderful and unſearchable ſometimes, they are never unjuſt. And what fruit can the ſtubborn reap by endeavouring to break their chains? What hath it ever profited them to challenge the Lord in the bitterneſs of their diſcontent? What have they got by curſing, murmuring, and repining▪ no other, than to make the furnace of tribulation ſeven times hotter. As it is beſt for the Child, and for the Mother, when the birth ſtays the due time before it be born: So let us not ſtruggle and toſs about to eaſe our ſelves in a time of infelicity: our redreſs will be moſt facile, and fair, when the Lord bringeth it to paſs at his good pleaſure. If you think to be delivered ſooner by quarrelling, violence, commotion, it will prove an abortive remedy. If you long to have things better, when they are ill, tarry for the Lord, ſit down, and mourn: be humble, obedient, keep a good conſcience, girt Nehemiahs patience unto you, ſit down and be ſtill.
A third inſtruction upon this Point is, that to ſit down is to muſe, and to conſider ſadly of that which is brought before us. So Nehemiah ſate down to call his ſoul to counſel, he intermitted all worldly buſineſs, and compoſed himſelf to think of the Judgments of God. It is well that the Royal Piety hath called us together to day upon ſo good an occaſion. Here is a Senate of Gods Servants gathered together in this holy place, and in all other houſes of God throughout this Realm. Now we are ſet to it, to call our ways to remembrance, to revolve in our mind, both every one a part, how far we have corrupted our ways: And likewiſe have taken this pauſe of time, and ſequeſtred our ſelves from all ſecular affairs to take a conſiderate view upon the ſins of the Kingdom, how near we are in all likelihood to relapſe into ſome great troubles, becauſe the fear of the Lord is not much conſpicuous among any ſorts of men.
Are our Peers and Nobles renowned for their advancement and protection of true honour and vertue, as their great Anceſtors have been? Sit down, and think upon it. The Reverend Sages of the Law, are their minds ſet upon righteouſneſs? And do they judge the thing that is right with courage and integrity? Sit down and think upon it. The portion and Tribe of God, the holy Clergy, do they remember, or can they forget, how they were lately trodden down, reviled, and caſt out of all they had for twenty years? And doth it ſtir us up to be burning and ſhining lights more than ever? And to double our diligence now in Prayer, in Preaching, and adminiſtring the holy Sacraments? Sit down and think upon it. For the Gentry, are they not addicted to waſte and riot; Do they not crowd themſelves into our enlarged Suburbs, where they have no Calling, but to emulate one another in exceſs of feminine Pride, and rude debauchery? Sit down and think upon it. As for what concerns the great City, not to rub it with ſalt and Satyrs, is it not as palpable as Gods light, that it did poiſon the whole Land with Rebellion, and ſtill infects it with Gaudineſs, Gluttony, Whoredoms, and Falſhoods? Sit down and think upon it. Do the Country Villages deſerve the old commendations of ſimplicity and innocency? But how ignorant are they in the knowledge of Salvation? How unthankful to God in all ſeaſons? How hath Satan bewitched them of late years into diſſolute lives, and drunkenneſs? Sit down and think upon it. I paſs over many things in ſilence, as not fit for publication.
Now though I have ſhewn you an Ocean of ungodlineſs breaking in upon us, who almoſt, unleſs ſuch an extraordinary day as this doth ſpur them on, who doth conſider it and muſe upon it with a leiſurable ſorrow? The moſt will ſhake their heads at it, and give it a ſhrug, and then they are at their furtheſt. There is all the regard they have, when the ſins of an whole Nation look as if they were white for harveſt. It is too tedious for them to ſit down, to caſt up a ſollicitous account, to ſurvey the parcels of our crimes, to caſt them up into a total ſum, as much as is poſſible. This is too long labour for them, who are very buſie a doing nothing. They will ſit down, as the Iſraelites did, to eat, and to drink, and riſe up to play. Whereas the beginning of true repentance is to allot ſome time day by day, for conſidering our own works ſeriouſly, and the criminal faults of the whole Land. Grant ſome good hours for the ſerious underſtanding of thoſe things, and run not away lightly from ſuch holy thoughts, but poſſeſs Nehemiahs room, ſit down, and ponder the Judgments of the Lord.
It follows in the ſecond branch of his penitential carriage, that the ſins, and deſolation of Jeruſalem wrought upon him ſo far that he wept. Perhaps ſome ſturdy ſpirit will ſay, Mulier quid ploras? Woman, what aileſt thou to weep? A manly courage thinks ſhame of it. Nay, Infans quid ploras? It is childiſh, as ſome conceive, to put the finger into the eye. Indeed, Quid poteſt infans niſi plorare? How can a Child help it ſelf when it is offended but by crying? But when our heavenly Father is offended, it is a ſweet ſign of grace to demean our ſelves like Children, and cry. Except you become as little children you cannot enter into the Kingdom of heaven. Mat. xviii. 3. Nay, ſays David, I have brought my ſoul low like a weaned Child, Pſal. cxxxi. 2. and yet he no coward. He became as a Child, and not ſuch a one as hath the breaſt, and is ſtill, but a weaned Child, taken from the comforts (and lullabies) of the Nurſe, and then you know it will burſt into tears.
True repentance, you ſee, abhors all ſtubbornneſs, and obſtinate reſolutions; it abates its fortitude, it melts in the ſight of God. Is not this much more religious than to have Nerves of Adamant, and an heart of braſs? A ſtomach that is inſenſible of the divine wrath is a ſymptome of madneſs, and not of courage. There is one in the Goſpel ſo ſtrong that none could hold him, no not the Chains wherewith he was tied, but he brake them aſunder. Now this unhappy perſon of whom I ſpeak was poſſeſſed with a Devil, Mar. v. 4. The ſame evil ſpirit is entred into thoſe robuſtious men, who eſteem them daſtards who quake at the threatnings of the Law, and faint at the terrours of death and judgment to come. No fetters of Religious fear will hold them. Are not theſe Sons of Anack mighty Giants? And we that tremble and weep at the guilt of our ſins, are we not as Graſhoppers in their ſight?
You cannot be of that mind if you conſider, that it is not ſtrength in the wicked, but madneſs, to carry themſelves ſtubbornly before an infinite and omnipotent Majeſty. Gregory the Great is copious in a whole Sermon upon this ſubject, that there is no ſuch weakneſs as the fortitude of Reprobates. Says he, out of the Prophet Iſaiah, they are ſtrong to drink Wine, and mighty to pour in ſtrong drink: Is not that a weakneſs? Ad inanem gloriam cum diſcrimine vitae perveniunt; They will uphold their reputation in frivolous quarrels with the hazard of their lives, nay, with the hazard of their ſalvation, and is not that a weakneſs? They will endure attendants, ſcorns, baſe Offices for favour: They will travel by Sea and Land, in perils of Thieves, in perils of Wa…ers for the hope of Riches. That is more than I can do, ſays Gregory, for this worlds good, Profectò ego non ſum tam fortis in ejus deſiderio. I am not ſo hardy to ſuffer ſo much for theſe tranſitory things. Laſtly, Says he, Contra flagella conditoris inſenſibiliter perdurant, God threatens them, and they do not weep; he corrects them, and they do not feel it. There is a num Palſie in their conſcience. I may truly ſay they are duſt, Nullus pulvis eſt tam pulvis: There is no moyſture in them, no living ſap in their root; if there were any thing of the life of grace in them they could not be ſo ſtupid. Gregory concludes this Doctrine with a good diſtinction, Reprobi ſunt debiliter fortes, boni ſunt valenter infirmi; Reprobates have great infirmity in their fortitude, the Children of God have great fortitude in their infirmity. Therefore it is more than manly, it is Saint-like, Apoſtolical, Prophetical to weep, becauſe we have grieved the holy Spirit of God with our iniquities.
It is Apoſtolical by the inſtance of St. Paul, Phil. iii. 18. There are many that walk, of whom I have told you before, and now I tell you weeping, they are enemies to the Croſs of Chriſt. Even thoſe ſuperſtitious ones that fall down before the ſign of the Croſs, they are enemies to the Croſs. Many of them walk among us, too many God help it: their Idols and Images, I fear, will bring a curſe upon the Land. If St. Paul were alive, he would tell us weeping, that they are enemies to the Redemption obtained by Chriſt. And weeping for ſin is Prophetical. Jeremy was never ſatisfied with weeping for the deplorable ſtate of the Jews: O that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, Chap. ix. 1. Et quid niſi vota ſuperſunt? The moſt that we can do is to wiſh for ſuch a tender and compaſſionate ſoul. It is to be wiſh'd, I ſay, but few there be that can overcome themſelves to perform it. As Leo ſaid of his days, men are little touched with any thing that God doth to us in his Juſtice or his Mercy. Nec de correctione compungimur, nec de remiſſione laetamur. We have neither ſpiritual joy, when God forgives us our ſins: nor penitent compunction, when he corrects us for our ſins.
Whence comes this hardneſs of heart? Hath Mary Magdalen left none of her generation behind her? Says the Son of Syrach, Ecclus. 31.13.What is created more wicked than the eye? Therefore it weeps upon every occaſion. Upon every occaſion it is ready to ſhed moiſture, but not upon the beſt occaſion: for when will it weep for its own tranſgreſſions, becauſe it hath been wanton and full of luſt? As a Widow that did not love her Husband will follow his Coarſe with dry eyes to his burial: So Chriſt is the Husband of every ſoul, which he hath eſpouſed to him in Baptiſm: If your ſins grieve him, and provoke him to depart from you, either lament it with many tears, or the caſe is plain that you never loved him. But the Devil hath turned the River of our tears the wrong way. A vain Interlude, a Fable upon the Stage repreſented in due action will make the ſoft Spectator to wet his handkercher. So the River is diverted from its natural channel: for when we are put in mind of the damnableneſs of our ſins, our cheeks are as ſear as the Mountains of Gilboa, upon which no drop of dew did fall.
Do you wonder at your ſelves, and ask the reaſon of this? Philoſophy will tell you, that love is ſtronger than hatred, and hath more command of our paſſions. We have tears in readineſs to bewail the death of our dear friends, love hath ſuch power over our tender affections: but when we are upon mortification to deplore and hate our ſins, the drops of our eyes are not ſo eaſily commanded. And this is marvelous in Nature, that you ſhall ſooner ſee fire ſparke out of our eyes in hot deſire of revenge, than tears which are moſt proper to the eye for our grievous ſins.
But will Philoſophy aſſiſt us with no better reaſon? Then hear Divinity, which will tell you the truth. It is preſumption, rank preſumption, that will not let our ſhallow repentance go on unto tears. We are not altogether perſwaded that God is in earneſt, when he threatens what manifold woes he will bring upon us for our rebellions. That deſperate courage which we aſſume to our ſelves upon great likelihood of impunity is that which mitigates our ſorrow, and ſuffers it not to break forth into any great meaſure of lamentation: We dream that the bloud of Chriſt is medicinal even for impenitent ſinners. Thus Satan kills us with that Balm which is diſtilled out of his wounds to cure us. But keep your faith from theſe impoſtures, and fawnings of the evil one: who would make you laugh your ſelves to death, lik thoſe that are bitten with the Tarantula. The Stag, when he is at the bay, and knows there is no way but death for him, falls a weeping. And are we not ſurer that no tittle of Gods minacies ſhall fail, than if we were at bay, with the Stag, and ready to be pluck'd down? Believe that God is a ſevere Judge, and that all his threatnings are true, that there is a day to come, when there will be weeping and gnaſhing of teeth. And when you fear this indeed, then you will practiſe my Doctrine without teaching. If any great ſickneſs hold you, that you think death is at hand, then your eyes will pay the tribute of ſorrow to the Lord; then Hezekiah chatters like a Swallow: the day of trial begins to be nearly diſcerned. But how much better is it to do this in your health, and before your ſtrength faileth? There is nothing more ſorrowful to the Devil than the godly ſorrow of the Saints: When his tentations come upon you, open the flood-gates, let in the ſluces, and drown them. The Ark was made to float upon the Waters when the wicked world was drowned: So the true Church of Chriſt ſhall be carried in ſafety upon the ſtreams of devout tears. Weep and lament the evil days that are paſt, and be comforted that there is an Age, an Eternity to come, when God will wipe away all tears from our eyes.
Onward now to the next Point, the third part of that remedy which Nehemiah uſed to cure the wound of a troubled ſoul; ſays he, I mourned certain days. The heavenly water which fell from his eyes brought forth no weeds, but ſad and ſerious Repentance which ejected all light joy. The Iſraelites in their days of diſtreſs had ſome outward badges of mourning, as covering the head and lip, not waſhing the face, not combing the hair, putting on Sackcloth, or other ſad rayment, or ſuch like. Which whether they were to be ſeen in Nehemiah, as I cannot affirm, ſo I will not deny: for I incline to perſwade my ſelf, that he wanted not thoſe outward marks and habilements of ſorrow, that the habit, and grizly uncompoſedneſs of his body might utter the affections of his mind.
But that which pleaſed God was the ſorrow of the Heart, and not of the Garment: It is the diſtreſs of the ſoul with inward anguiſh, that knocks at heaven for mercy: and comfort will ſooner ſhine upon them that cover themſelves with darkn…s, and will not be comforted. Bleſſed are they that mourn, for they ſhall be comforted, Mat. v. 4. It is not a puniſhment, but a gift of God, to be endued with godly ſorrow. And all his gifts put together make a treaſure of felicity. Cum te video in conſpectu Domini ſuſpirantem, ſpiritum ſanctum non dubito aſpirantem, Cyprian de caenâ Domini. When I ſee thee breath out ſighs upon earth, I diſcern that God hath breathed into thee his holy Spirit from heaven. Now the ſame Spirit took on him the ſhape of a Dove, when he came down from heaven to ſit upon our Saeviour at his Baptiſm. It is impoſſible to teach a Dove to ſing a chearful note: for Nature hath ingraffed in her a ſolemn mourning, Gemitum pro cantu: it doth not ſing like other birds, but groan; and it is the Spirit that puts afflictive thoughts into our Spirit with groans unutterable.
O hang up the Harps of mirth for a while, and let them remain untuned: Lament the days wherein we have provoked the Lord to give us nothing but lamentation. You never read that God will honour your joy to keep it in his everlaſting remembrance, but you are ſure he will not forget your mourning, ſays David, Pſal. lvi. 8. Thou telleſt my flitting, put my tears into thy Bottel, are not theſe things noted in thy Book? Nor doth he merely bear them in mind, and keep them in his Regiſter, but Figuratively, as ſome interpret it, he wears them upon his head, for ſays Chriſt, Cant. v. 2. My head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night: as if he wore the tears of our mourning like drops of Pearl upon his head. Dry eyes, and unrelenting hearts are the curſe of God, as it is Ezek. xxiv. 23. You ſhall not mourn, nor weep, but ye ſhall pine away for your iniquities. Do you love to be heightned in your pleaſures? To be always converſant in joy and voluptuouſneſs? Would you never be wrinced with any ſorrow for your ſins? O what a miſchief is this which you long for? If you do not mourn at ſome ſeaſons, if you do not fall into pious contriſtation, you ſhall pine away in your iniquities.
I may not forget the continuance of Nehemiahs mourning, it laſted certain days. As a watry Moon breeds foul weather for an whole month after: So when he began to be a mourner for the ſins and ſcourges of his people, he perſevered till it came to ſome magnitude of afflictive compunction. Nothing will come to any large increaſe in an hour, therefore he produced his ſorrow longer and longer, and mourned certain days. Not firſt a ſigh, and ſuddenly a flux of laughter upon it; not humbled in faſting to day, and pampering the body in all exceſs and riot to morrow. Are there none here that will be ſo fickle and change ſo ſoon? God grant it. For a ſhort acquaintance with godlineſs is ſoon forgotten. He that catcheth at Repentance by ſudden fits will never lay hold of it. Inſiſt upon good motions, protract them to day, and to morrow, and continue many ſuch days together, that Piety may have its perfect courſe. When you will ſcarce hold out the length of an hour, nay, hardly the length of the Lords Prayer, but your mind is drawn off from the ſurvey of Repentance, you have done as good as nothing. They that firſt did diſtribute apt times and ſeaſons in the Church for the Service of God, contrived forty days together in Lent for religious ſorrow and humiliation; a long time of perſeverance indeed, that we might be perfect in the Leſſon. As Moſes continued forty days together in the Mount, that he might be perfect in the Law of the Lord. All that I bend towards in my inſtruction is this: That foraſmuch as we have but this one day allotted for our exerciſe of extraordinary Prayer and Mortification, the benefit may diſpread unto to morrow, and the morrow after, and ſo ſpin it out, that we may keep time with Nehemiah, and ſay we have mourned certain days.
But why hath he not expreſſed how long he continued in this ſad habit of repentance; I mourned certain days: and wherefore are his certain days ſo uncertain? Becauſe he did not keep reckoning with God, and take a preciſe account how much ſervice he did him: as the Phariſee had it at his fingers ends, I faſt twice a week: and as the moſt are perfect to number their few good deeds, I give ſo much yearly to the poor, I frequent the holy Communion ſo often: I go now and then on working days to morning Prayer. And perhaps before night ſome will break out into boaſting, how many hours they have ſpent at Church upon this ſolemn Faſt. This is to ſerve God by weight and meaſure, and to ſcore up every good minute we have ſpent, leſt the Lord ſhould forget it. But Nehemiah doth not make oſtentation of the juſt length of time, which he ſpent in devotion and ſorrow, but cloſeth it up indefinitely in this manner, I mourned certain days.
And this mourning drew on another exerciſe of religious affliction, which denominates the Piety of this day, He faſted. It is very proper that this partner ſhould go hand in hand with mourning. I wept and chaſtened my ſelf with faſting, ſays David. A penſive mind will ſeldom have a hungry ſtomach: True ſorrow will make a man forget to eat his bread. Some will not deny that there is an harmony between Faſting and Mourning not to be broken, but they cannot abide to come under the penance of Faſting, and then they ſhut mourning out of doors becauſe it wants its Mate. But the Libertine maunders, Faſting, what is that to the advantage of Repentance? The Kingdom of Heaven is not meat and drink. If we eat, we are not the worſe: and if we eat not, we are not the better. And what God hath given us freely, why is our liberty abridged, that we may not uſe it when we will?
I anſwer, None is more firmly enfeoffed of any thing than the Husband is of the Wife, and the Wife of the Husband: And yet they may keep aſunder with conſent for a time, that they may give themſelves to Faſting and Prayer, 1 Cor. vii. 5. So the Lord hath given us the earth, and the fulneſs of it: but it is expedient ſometimes, as on this day, to abſtain from meats, that the Spirit may be the ſtronger to work by the ſubjection of the body. It is a means, both upon the extraordinarineſs of it, to make us look exactly into the bottom of our conſcience, as alſo to elevate the mind, and to make it more capable of heavenly thoughts. As we ſee it in St. Peter, he faſted, and fell into a trance, and ſaw that Viſion, happy for us, the calling of the Gentiles, Act. x. So Daniel eat no pleaſant bread, nor drank Wine for three weeks, and he was the better compoſed for thoſe Prophetical Revelations which were imparted to him, Dan. x. 2. It is not the bare abſtinence from meats, take it alone by it ſelf, that pleaſeth God: but as it is in conjunction with other holy duties: as to diſpoſe the body to Chaſtity, and to heighten up the mind to the contemplation of heavenly things. That you may know the right Faſt from the wrong, there are three to one in whom there is no profit at all. Jejunat juſtus, mendicus, hypocritá, parcus, ſays the old verſe. 1. The Hypocrite abſtains from meats, and looks ſadly, not that he may caſt himſelf down before God, but that he may exalt his name among men. 2. The Niggard faſts, and torments his body to ſpare his Purſe. 3. The poor man faſts, becauſe he hath not wherewithal to relieve his hunger. Theſe are not within the compaſs of Religion. But fourthly the devour man faſts, to give his ſoul the true bias of penance and mourning, and to teſtifie before heaven and earth, that nothing ſhall comfort him but the mercy of God, whom he hath offended.
I will come to particulariſe in the Sphere of our Nation. Firſt, if there were no other ſin among us (but woe and alas we abound with a great deal more) but if we had no other fault, yet the ſtrange intolerable luxury brought in in theſe conſuming days, the great myſtery of Cookery, utterly unknown to the laudable hoſpitality of our fore-fathers; this wanton, aromatical Ambergriece-diet (what ſhould I call it?) Doth it not deſerve to be expiated by a Publick Faſt? Doth it not require that we ſhould ſet aſide all manner of food for one day till Even? As good men and temperate were aſhamed to eat for neceſſity, becauſe coſtly Palats are ſo profuſely laviſh in ſuperfluity. Let us confeſs, and declare in act, that we deſerve not that which God hath given us: let us ſubſcribe by this humiliation, that we have forfeited that right and dominion which we had in the Creatures, and that we are not worthy ſo much as to gather up the Crums under our Maſters Table.
Secondly, We dwell in a Land, upon which the heaven doth caſt its moſt propitious influence: it is the true Ganaan of the Weſtern world, flowing with ſo much plenty, that I have oftner heard it grumbled at, that it brought forth too much, than that it brought forth too little. Either it brings forth all manner of ſtore, or all manner of ſtore by commodious Navigation is brought into it. Ex te provenient, vel aliunde tibi. And how unthankful have we been for this moſt bounteous ſuſtenance? How ſlack in our acknowledgment, that God hath opened the windows of heaven to rain down plenty upon us? Is it not fit therefore that we ſhould do juſtice upon our ſelves, forbear, and touch no more food, untill we have ſanctified a Faſt, and made an attonement for our ingratitude, and preſs'd it upon our ſelves to be more thankful?
Thirdly, The poor and needy have been neglected by us: They have been almoſt famiſhed when we have ſurfeited: and they have wanted that which the rich mens Dogs have devoured. O therefore chaſtiſe your bodies with hunger at this once, that you may avenge the injuries which you have done to the poor upon your own fleſh. Cornelius the Centurton faſted and gave Alms: whereupon, ſays St. Auſtin, Cornelius, when himſelf faſted, fed others who had no meat, that their repleniſhing might make his Faſt the more acceptable to God. So this day you muſt feed the poor out of your own bellies, and whatſoever you ſpare from your meal, ſpend it on them, and you ſhall feed your Saviour in them.
And as …aſting is a pious occaſion, thereby to ask pardon of God for our Gluttony, our unthankfulneſs to God, our hard heartedneſs to the poor, ſo fourthly I would it might work ſome good amendment upon our moſt ſcandalous drunkenneſs. I pro…e…s I have little hope that that ſin is corrigible among us. For I believe verily I make my account right, that we ſpend three hundred Cups of Wine in theſe days in this Kingdom for one that, was ſpent when I was a Child. Therefore …o dehort from this debauchery, I ſhall but put new wine into old bottels, religious inſtruction before old unreclaimable Drunkards. Theſe bottels are ſtopt, and will never receive my Doctrine. They had rather be Swine than Men, Horſeleeches that are always ſucking at corruption. He that cares not by over quaffing himſelf to loſe his reaſon, the moſt precious thing that is in the ſoul of man, he is ſo drowned in intemperance, that till he hates that Vice, and caſts it off, he deceives himſelf if he thinks he can ſet any true valuation upon the grace of God. But O that this holy Faſt might reclaim thoſe in this moſt conſpicuous place or the whole Kingdom, who are prone to be overwhelmed in the dead Sea of drink! That you would fear leaſt God ſhould take you away when you are ſo pitifully overtaken! That you would remember how they who enflame themſelves with Wine now ſhall hereafter want a drop of water to cool their tongues in hell fire.
Yet for all thoſe who forget themſelves in that, or in any other manner, we keep this Publick Faſt to remember God in their behalf. Publicum jejunium eſt ſolemnis profeſſio reatus, they are the words of Calvin; To call a Publick Faſt is to draw a ſolemn profeſſion from the tongues of all men, in the behalf of all men. So do we for thoſe who out of ſtubbornneſs, and frivolous exceptions againſt our Liturgy, will not joyn with us in this Church duty: So we do for thoſe, who out of blindneſs in a ſuperſtitious breeding, had rather mutter they know not what in an unknown Tongue, than pray with us in that Language wherein they may be comforted and edified: So we do for thoſe, who out of profaneneſs, and Atheiſm, think not of theſe things, and have no affection to bear a part in common Supplications. We faſt for all theſe to day as for our ſelves, deſiring God, as it is in our Litany, that he will have mercy upon all men. The ſick that deſire to joyn with us in Prayer, and cannot come: Infants and Sucklings, whoſe tongues are not yet framed to magnifie the Lord, we repreſent all theſe, and include them in our faithful and charitable Supplications; for our ſelves, and for all theſe, we pray to our heavenly Father, that as we ſpread not our Table this Noon, ſo he will fit us againſt Night to eat our meal with a good conſcience, with confidence and comfort that he hath reſtored us to all his bleſſings again: And though we have been Prodigal Children, yet we ſhall be brought into our Fathers houſe to eat the bread of life, and the fatted Calf, even Jeſus Chriſt. A Faſt is commonly the Eve before ſome Holy-day: and I pray to God that this Publick Faſt may be ſuch, the Eve, or forerunning day to joyful times to come: and ſo it will be if, as ſure as this is a Faſt, the time to come be obſerved with all diligence as holy to the Lord.
And now in the concluſion of all, that you may know that Nebemiah fulfilled all righteouſneſs for Jeruſalems ſake, when ſo many exerciſes of humiliation had gone before, in the upſhot he prayed before the God of heaven. Weeping, and Mourning, and Faſting are about Prayer like prickles about a Roſe. But as no ſweet Roſe is without prickles, ſo no powerful Prayer is without theſe, or ſome of theſe. But this is the Roſe, this is the flower of Religion, this is the Odour of ſweet Incenſe, that aſcends up before the Lord. Ibi nuntius noſter oratio mandatum per agit, quò caro pervenire non poteſt, ſays St. Auſtin; It delivers our Meſſage like an Embaſſadour in the Sanctuary of God, whither corruptible fleſh and bloud cannot enter. For as the Winds and Air have free acceſs unto thoſe places which are immured and watcht that no foot of man can approach unto them: So though a Cherubim brandiſh a flaming Sword before Paradiſe, that the Seed of mortal man cannot come to it without deſtruction; yet our Prayers are Spirits and Angels that fly upon the wings of the wind, and come boldly to that place where God is wonderful in light inacceſſible. A poor whelp hath found out a way by nature to lick it ſelf whole with its tongue when it is bitten, or wounded: So when we are oppreſſed with any evil of ſin, or of puniſhment, our tongue is our inſtrument to lick the ſore. Call upon the Lord in the time of trouble, and he will hear thee and help thee.
Yet very much goes to it to make Prayer ſpeeding and effectual. Go unto the Houſe of the Lord as often as you can, and joyn in humble Petition with the Spirit of the whole Church, with the Congregation of Saints: and bring your mind with you as well as your body, your zeal as well as your voice. Obſerve your conſtant times of private Prayer, at leaſt every Morning and every Evening (if oftener the better.) Caſt your ſelf upon your knees with a reſolved preparation to be a faithful, a penitent, an earneſt Supplicant: Intermit not this practice for any worldly avocation, either to ſerve your ſelf, or to ſerve your friends, and I can tell you this will bring ſuch admirable effects to paſs, when you have got the habit and perſeverance of that vertue, as I durſt not name, but that the Spirit of God hath got aſſurance of it. It will give you knowledge of divine things, when you will wonder how you learnt them: It will pick the thorns of Concupiſcence out of your fleſh, when you will marvel how you were rid of them: It will give you courage in dangers, when there is ſmall hope to eſcape: And content, when deſire is not obtained: And chearfulneſs, when every thing that ſhould procure joy is far from you. It is grace and peace, health and wealth, and every good thing that concerns this life and a better. Only ask, ſeek, and knock: ask with confidence, ſeek with diligence, knocb with perſeverance. No Father if his Child ask him bread will give him a ſtone, or if he ask a fiſh will give him a Scorpion. If they that are evil give good things, how much more will your heavenly Father? If we ask him Victory, he will not give us a Defeat: If we ask him Peace, he will not give us continuance of War: If we ask him for Juſtice, he will not give us Oppreſſion: If we ask him for the continuance of true Religion, he will not give us Idolatry and Superſtition. But ask zealouſly, faithfully, devoutly, with love unfeigned, with a clean heart, as becometh Saints. For if you ask amiſs, you ſhall go without.
Look towards the pattern of Nehemiah: he was one of great integrity, and uprightneſs, and therefore fit to carry the Petitions of all the people in his lips to God. He prayed before God, not like an Hypocrite to be ſeen of men. He ſet God always before him, aſſured that he was preſent to hear his words, and to ſee his ways. But they that have the itch of the Phariſees, to draw the eyes of men upon them, the Lord will turn away his face, and reject their Prayers. He prayed before the God of heaven, he did not pray to the Saints in heaven. No, ſays Friar Walden, we confeſs that none of the juſt men in the Old Teſtament did ever pray to any Saint departed, partly becauſe the ſouls of the righteous were not admitted unto the Viſion of God in heaven before Chriſt by his Aſcenſion did open the Kingdom of heaven to all believers. Even as much then as now, for ought he knows, and how much or how little either then or now, it is hard for him or us to know. But his ſecond reaſon is, that the Jews were kept from the cuſtom of praying to Saints, leaſt they ſhould run into Idolatry. I thank him for that caution, for that mis led practice of praying to Saints is a ſymptome of Idolatry. Let us direct our Petitions to the Lord alone, in whom we have aſſurance that he doth hear us, and will help us. I have ſaid unto the Lord thou art my God, hear the voice of my Prayer O Lord, Pſal. xl. 6. Is there any Precept in Scripture that gives the leaſt perfunctory admonition to pray to Saints? None. Is there any example in the Book of God of any of his Servants that did it? None. The rich Glutton was a Reprobate that called out of hell upon Abraham. Is there any Promiſe annexed to invocation of Saints that God will bleſs it? None. Then happy are they that keep cloſe to the Religion of Nehemiah, who prayed before the God of heaven.
I have held you long, and will diſpatch now with a few auſpicious words. Auſpicious, I ſay, becauſe they come from the heart, the hope, the comfortable perſwaſion of one, though a mean one, that hath ſought the Lord. We are met to day like Nehemiah before the God of heaven, before the God of the Waters above the heaven, before the God of the Seas, and of the Earth, and of all dry places. God will bleſs us, and go out with our moſt magnanimous Prince, with our Fleet and Hoſt, for the juſtneſs of our Cauſe, helpt with ſtrong Faith, fervent Prayer, reformed lives, united minds, and religious ends.
Firſt, The ground of confidence is the juſtneſs of the Cauſe. Unleſs any would think it fit to have the Lion ſleep while Water-rats pull him by the Mane. Every private Subject may appeal to Law for redreſs of his injuries: there is a Magiſtrate ſet over him to do him right. A King, being immediatly Supreme under God, cannot plead before an earthly Tribunal. Surely if he receive wrong by Foraign ill-willers his caſe is not more remedileſs than the meaneſt Subjects. A Treaty is a formal courſe of Arbitration; it hath no abſolute power to command that to be ſtreight which was crooked before. Therefore it is left to a King to do himſelf right by his Sword againſt the provocation of his enemies. To wage War is a felicity to ill Princes, and ſometimes a neceſſity to the good.
Secondly, The courage of a Warriour is a ſtrong Faith. Let me apply unto it, Epheſ. vi. 16. Take ye the ſhield of Faith, and it will quench the firy Darts; and why not the firy ſhot of the wicked? And cover you with the Helmet of Salvation. If you would not have the Seas make a noiſe and rore, believe that Chriſt is in the ſame Ship with you, and that he is awake, and not aſleep in the hinder part: But if ye diſtruſt, he will rebuke you, and ſay, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Every ſtedfaſt faith is charged like a Canon, and will do as great execution upon our Aggreſſors. The Heathen themſelves are Witneſſes to us, that a Legion of Chriſtians, marching in the Army with Marcus Aurelius, by their Faith in Chriſt, and Prayer, obtained great Thunder and Lightning, which utterly routed the Hoſt that came againſt them, and that Legion was called foreign, the thundring Legion for an whole Age after. And I am confident we have many ſuch thundring Faiths among the Regiments of the Royal Fleet.
Thirdly, Be fervent and unceſſant in Prayer. As Moſes held up his hands to the going down of the Sun, when Joſhuah fought, and vanquiſhed Amalek, Exod. xvii. 12. My heart rejoyceth within me, when I conſider how many Congregations are in Prayer this day to crave victorious ſucceſs, about ten thouſand. Why it is as if ſo many Ships were equipped to be added to the gallant Argoſies of his Majeſties upon the Seas, who cry aloud to God for the long felicity of the King in this, and in all his enterpriſes, for the welfare of the Realm, the proſperity of the Army, and particularly, that God will be the Anchor to keep our Anchor firm and ſure.
Fourthly, O that the reformation of our lives may go together with our Prayers. They are the works of Juſtice, Temperance, Mortification, that will make us ſtrong, and our Enemies feeble. Then our Faſts ſhall famiſh them, our tears ſhall drown them, and our Repentance ſhall condemn them. As for Luſt, Riot, Swearing, Libertiniſm, let them not be named among the Chieftains, nor among the meaneſt Boat-ſwains. Let our enemies be ſuch flaſhy ill-framed Chriſtians. It is a pious, undefiled, chaſte converſation that will be an invincible Bulwark about this fortunate Iſland. If riotous ſins riſe out of evil manners, they are worſe than Capers, and Skippers, than the Devil and all his Inſtruments.
Fifthly, Minds and hearts united are a brave advantage to the preſent Service. And that is apparent, that both Houſes of Parliament have made this the Cauſe of the whole Nation, and provided liberally for the Pay and Reward of the Enterpriſe. It is the felicity of our King David, the man after Gods own heart, and the man after the Peoples own heart, that he bowed the heart of Iſrael as the heart of one man, 2 Sam. xix. 14. Yet I cannot diſſemble it with you, that many of the Nobles of Judah, when Nehemiah was ſo careful for them, turned recreants, ſent Letters to Tobiah, and kept intelligence with him, Chap. vi. 17. Thoſe that be like him are Vultures, who, when two Armies are to encounter, flutter about the place, to watch upon what ſide moſt will be ſlain, that they may prey upon the reaking Carkaſſes. If there be any ſuch Vultures among us I will read them their doom. The ſtory is in Socrates, lib. 6. c. There was War between Theodoſius and the ſtrong Rebel Maximus. Theophilus, a cunning Gipſie, (for he was an Alexandrian born) writes two fawning Letters, one to Theodoſius, the other to Maximus, and ſent them by his Servant Iſidore, with a great Sum of Gold, to preſent that to him that got the Victory. A Souldier, looking for a booty in Iſidores Knapſack, while he ſlept, hapned to find both the Letters, and gave them both to Theodoſius, who defeated Maximus. You may imagine what became of Iſidore, whoſe Carkaſs was made a prey to Vultures on a Gibbet, becauſe he was a Spy to halt on both ſides. So God detect them to their confuſion, who are as double-minded as that Egyptian.
Laſtly, A laudable and vertuous end crowns all. Now what end do we propound to our ſelves in our common Supplications to day? No doubt it is, that, violence and injuſtice being ſuppreſſed by War we may live in peace. For if Peace be not the end of War it is barbarous immanity, as in the Turkiſh Creſcent. But the next queſtion is the more principal, what end do we propound to our ſelves upon the ſettlement of Peace? Why, to enjoy the fruits of it thankfully to Gods glory. Bleſſed are the People whoſe hearts are ſo affected. I will promiſe them the Palm of Victory in this life, and Eternal mercy hereafter. But if you deſire Trade may flouriſh and be opulent, that you may fill your Cups fuller, throw away heaps of Gold in Gaming, ſhine in Jewels, ſwim in Luxury, you may pray till the Sun go down, and riſe again, and God will never hear you. Or if you mean, when your Foes are ſubdued abroad, to oppreſs thoſe whom you hate and malign at home, you ſhall neither thrive abroad nor at home. Pyrrho haec & Samnitibus. I can wiſh our Enemies no greater harm than ſuch corrupted minds. That Pyrrhus (it is in Plutarch) was a rambling Warriour, and cared not whom he oppreſſed. Says Cyneas to him, his beſt Counſellor, Shall we live thus always? No, ſays Pyrrhus, when we have vanquiſhed the Romans, Compotabimus, & in otio vivemus; We will drink ſtoutly, and live merrily. His Horſe would have ſaid as much, if he could have ſpoken, that when his ſervice was done he would ſtand in the Stable, and eat his Provender. But the end of War is Peace, and the end of Peace is to die unto Sin, and to live unto Righteouſneſs.
Theſe are the laſt words I have to ſay now: In the juſtneſs of our Cauſe, confidence of Faith, fervour of Prayer, amendment of our Lives, United Hearts, and in our Religious and Noble ends, we commend our moſt ſerene and excellent Admiral, the whole Royal and gallant Expedition, which he manageth, to God. In whom alone is our help: For there is none that fights for us powerfully and irreſiſtably but only thou O God. To which God, &c.