The Voice of the Rod, Title page – To the reader
THE VOICE OF THE ROD, OR, GOD'S Controverſie pleaded with MAN. BEING A Plain and Brief Diſcourſe on MICH. 6.9.
By SAMƲEL STODDON Miniſter of God's Word.
Vexatio dat Intellectum. The Rod and Reproof give Wiſdom,
Prov. 29.15. &c.
LONDON, Printed for the Author, and are to be ſold by Robert Boulter, at the ſign of the Turks-head in Biſhopsgate-ſtreet, near Greſham Colledge. 1668.
THE DEDICATION. TO THE finite, Eternal, and All wiſe God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, L. N. His unworthy Servant and Steward of the Sacred Myſteries of his Everla…ing Goſpel, humbly devoteth theſe Firſt-fruit… of his Small things.
Moſt Glorious, and Dread Sovereign,
WHo, or what am I, whom thou haſt choſen to plead …hy Controverſie, and …o go, as an Herauld of War, before the Lord of …oſts? Alas! I am a Child; Jer. 1.6.and the Work i… too great for me. But Lord, if thy poor Stripling muſt go; provid… both the ſling and th… ſtone, the Word, and the Spirit; that this uncircumciſed Goliah of Si… which hath defied the God of the Armies of Iſrae… may fall before it. Out … the Mouthes of Babes a… Sucklings, Pſal. 8.4.haſt thou ordaine… ſtrength; Even ſo, Fathe… for ſo it ſeemed good in t… ſight. Match. 11.26.O, let it be according to thy Word! Lord thou knoweſt, Thou ha… put me on hard, yet happy work; Thou haſt …et me in the place of Dragons; Lions are in my way; they are a ſtiff-necked (though thy own) People, unto whom thou haſt ſent me; Will they believe, or hearken o thy Voice! And now,Exod. 4.1. Lord, what wilt thou do or thy poor Servant, that is willing to adventure to the utmoſt for thee? Thou knoweſt my In. …ufficiency, and where …y ſtrength lyeth; O, withdraw not thy hand, even thy Right Hand, but deliver me out of the great vvaters, Pſal. 144.7, 8from the hand of ſtrang… children, vvhoſe mouth ſpeaket… vanity, and their right hand … a right hand of falſhood; the… vvill I ſing a nevv ſong un… thee, O God. Be thou … Mouth unto me, and … will be a Mouth for the… Prepare my heart, guid… my pen, open my underſtanding; ſettle, ſanctifi… and enlarge my judgement; inſpire my Sou… and ſet every Povver of … in tune; Fill my Quive… guide my eye, and proſper my hand! Lord, I have none to help me, none to protect me, no Mecoenas, but thy bleſſed Self, to fly for Patronage, and Refuge to; The Work is thine, wilt not thou own it? the Meſſage is thine, wilt not thou bear me out in it? Thou haſt ſent me; O ſend thine Angel, thy Spirit, thy Preſence with me! I do ſolemnly chooſe thee this day, for my all ſufficient Portion and Companion, and the Shield of thy Grace, for my defence; Accept both the perſon, and the offering of thy Servant; Suffer me to imbovver it under that golden Wing, from whence I deſire to pluck my Quill. O let Him defend it, that at firſt inſpir'd it, and who alone can, and will pardon the many faults of it; and then the Glory of all, which is his peculiar Deodand, shall be humbly preſented Him, on the broken Cenſer of my Heart. Proſper thy Work in my hands; let me not return with my Net broken and empty; let me go forth weeping, bearing precious ſeed, ſo that I may come again rejoicing, bringing my Sheaves with me. The happy ſucceſs of my labour and travel, is all the wages I look for, in this world; If thy Name may be glorified, thy People awakened and reformed, thy ends accomplished; I have what I aim at. O let me hit that mark, though I break my bow! let thy Pills work, though thou burn the paper they were wrapt in! Lord! whatever become of me, let it go well with thy Name, thy Intereſt, thy Church in the Earth!
Thou haſt ſent me, as once thou ſenteſt Jonas to Nineveh; to proclaim the Lords Warr, and to plead with thy People; put words into my mouth, and cauſe the Inhabitants of the Land to hear. Thou haſt ſtricken us, Jer. 5.3.but we have not grieved, thou haſt conſumed us, but we have refuſed to receive correction. Lam. 1.4.The wayes of Sion do mourn; Her Adverſaries are the chief, her enemies proſper; for the Lord hath afflicted her. Jeruſalem hath grievouſly ſinned, therefore is ſhe removed; all that honoured her, deſpiſe her. Her filthineſs is in her skirts, ſhe remembreth not her laſt end, therefore ſhe came down wonderfully. All her People ſigh, they ſeek bread, they have given their pleaſant things, for meat to relieve the Soul. Sion ſpreadeth forth her hands, and there is none to comfort her: the Lord hath commanded concerning Jacob, that his Adverſaries ſhould be round about him: Jeruſalem is as a menſtruous woman among them. For theſe things I vveep, mine eye, mine eye runneth dovvn vvith vvater.— When shall the iniquity of Jacob be purged? Iſa. 27.9.and this be all the fruit, to take avvay ſin; Iſ. 10.12.When will the Lord have performed his vvhole vvork upon mount Zion? Turn again our captivity, O Lord, as the ſtreams in the South. O ſuffer thy poor children to wreſtle with thee! Say not unto us, Let me alone: We cannot, we dare not, we will not let thee thus alone. Our hearts are breaking for thee; we know not what to do: we can do no leſs, we can do no more, than cry unto thee. O, remember thy Covenant, and what there hath paſt, and been mutually ſworn and ſealed to, between thy bleſſed Self and us, in the day of our Eſpouſals. Were we thine then, and are we not thine ſtill? Haſt thou repented of thy Choice? Didſt thou not know what we were, and whence we were, and how we would prove? Lord, have we deceived thee? and is the Relation void, unto which thou hadſt adopted us in Chriſt Jeſus? The Lord forbid! O ſuffer thy poor children to hold thee to thy word, which thou canſt not, thou wilt not break. Let us call thee Father ſtil!, vvhatever be either our Offence, or our Affliction.Hic ure, tunde, ſeca, modò in aeternum parcas. Bern. Chaſtiſe us, ſo that thou vvilt but love us: let Enemies riſe vvithout, ſo that Enemies may fall vvithin. Righteous Father, we complain not of thee, though vve thus complain to thee. Thou haſt nouriſhed, Iſa. 1.2.and brought us up, but we have rebelled againſt thee. We are reaping our own harveſt; and drinking the wine of our own mingling. Time was, that we had the Bridegroom with us, and then we knew not what Weeping meant: We have been viſited vvith our day, a day of Peace; but we knew not the things of our Peace, in the day of our Viſitation. We heard thy Voice, thy ſweet, thy pleaſant Voice; but then vve had other things to do; The Flesh, the World, the Devil, outcryed thee; the bonds of Iniquity, the chains of the ſtrong man were upon us: But vvhen thou gaveſt thy parting knocks, and turn dſt the Key upon us, our hearts melted like vvax, and our Souls vvere filled vvith the Odours of thy ſweet-ſmelling Myrrh. On this Scent, Lord, vve follovv hard after thee; vvhile our enemies,Cant. 5.5, 7. (the VVatchmen that go about the City) purſue. O, how long! how …ong! wilt thou hide thy ſelf in thy diſpleaſure? until we acknowledge our offence, Hoſ. 5.15.and ſeek thy face? Lord, thou knoweſt, we freely acknowledge all that thou haſt pleaſed to convince us of; we ſeek thy face. And now, what doth the Lord require of us? O, VVhy is his chariot ſo long a coming? Judg. 5.28.why tarry the wheels of his chariots? Pſal. 68 13.How long shall thy Beloved lye among the Pots? and thy children cry in vain? O what is the Cloud that covers thee? Surely 'tis no little cloud that can hide ſo great a Preſence; no ſmall offence, that can provoke ſo patient, ſo indulgent a Father Thou wilt not, thou canſt not be angry, for trifles. Who, where i… he, that hath been th… Make-bate between us … Come, Jon. 1.7.and let us caſt lots that we may know, for whoſ… cauſe this evil is come upon …s: Be it our Benjamin, … right hand, or a right …ye, let it die, and …et us be the Lord's Bond-men. This is the buſineſs, that is before thy ſervants: vve are come to caſt lots on …ur Selves, this day; that we may know, who, and what it is, that hath troubled the Camp. Give a perfect lot, make a convincing Evidence: though it be a Jonathan, 1 Sam. 14.39.he shall ſurely dye: be it a pleaſant Daughter, an only child, that hath been wont to court us with Timbrels and dances, Judg. 11.34, 35.it shall be as the Daughter of Jephthah; For we have opened our Mouth unto the Lord, and vve wall not go back. Lord, Wilt thou make a Covenant this day with thy Servants, that are unfeignedly willing to renevv their broken Covenant vvith the Lord their God? Shall it once more be ſaid, that the Lord delighteth in England? Wilt thou once more betroth us to thy ſelf for …ver? yea, Hoſ. 2.19.betroth us unto …hee, in righteouſneſs, and in judgment, and in loving-kindneſs, and in mercies, and in faithfulneſs; Prune us, lop us, dig us, dreſs us, and then try us once more. O, vvhat a Garden? what a Husbandry? what a Workmanſhip, mayſt thou make of us? vvhat a Temple? vvhat a Tower, mayſt thou build to duplicate page duplicate page thy great Name, in the midſt of us! hovv Fair! how Beautiful mayſt thou make us! Dear God! Once more … once more, try vvhat thou canſt do vvith, and for, poor England! O … let us once more look from the top of Amana, Cant. 4.8.and Shenir, and Hermon, from the Lions dens from the Mountains of the Leopards, and ſtay thy rough vvind, Iſa. 27.8.in this the day of the Eaſt-wind
And now, that thy vvrath is gone out, and thy Plague begun among thy people; Numb. 16.46, 47, 48.Suffer thy poor ſervant to take his Cenſer; …et thy Spirit put on …e from the Altar, and …hy dear Son, my dear…ſt Saviour, put on In…enſe, and ſo let him be one of thoſe that ſtand between the dead and the li…ing; to turn away thy vvrath from Iſrael. Accept of his pleading with Thee, and give ſucceſs to his pleading with Man; That thy Rod may not leave us in our Ruins, nor in our Sins. Lord, thou haſt us now on the wheel, mayeſt thou not novv fashion us on vvhat mould thou vvilt! Thou haſt us in the Furnace, mayeſt thou not make of us vvhat thou pleaſeſt? Thou haſt us in the Nets, mayeſt thou not bind us to what thou wilt? Thou haſt found us in our Month, vvilt thou novv take the advantage on us and bring us to thine ovvn terms? O Lord, Iſa. 62.3, 4.Spare Jeruſalem! and ſee it a quiet habitation. Say unto England, Thou ſhalt be a Crovvn of Glory, in the hand of the Lord, and a royal Diadem in the hand of thy God; thou ſhalt no more be termed, Forſaken; neither ſhall thy Land any more be termed, Deſolate; but thou ſhalt be called Hephzibah, and thy Land Beulah: For the Lord delighteth in thee, and thy Land ſhall be married. Look down from Heaven, and behold, Iſa. 63.15, 16, 17.from the Habitation of thy Holineſs, and of thy Glory: Where is thy zeal, and thy ſtrength; the ſounding of thy bowels, and of thy Mercies towards me, are they reſtrained? Doubtleſs, thou art our Father, though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Iſrael acknowledge us not: Thou, O Lord, art our Father, our Redeemer, thy name is from everlaſting. O Lord, why haſt thou made us to err from thy from thy wayes? and hardned our heart from thy fear? Return, for thy Servants ſake, the Tribes of thine Inheritance, for thy Mercies ſake for thy great Name's ſake, for thy Covenant's ſake, for thy Chriſt's ſake, return, return. Even ſo Lord! Amen! Amen!
TO THE READERS.
Brethren,
MY hearts deſire,Rom. 80.1. and Prayer to God, for Iſrael, is, that it might be ſaved.Ier. 4.14. In order vvhereunto, I have caſt in this my Mite; as ſo much Nitre, to wash your hearts from wickedneſs.—For the Voice declareth from Dan, and publisheth Affliction from Mount Ephraim. Will the Lord ſanctifie it, and ſeparate it unto this end! I have been mending my broken Nets, and now this once more, I come to Shoot Scene; the Lord bleſs the Venture. I intend not to hold you here; my Meſſage to you is in that which follovvs. If you ſeek for my Apology, 1 Cor. 9.6. you may find it. For Neceſſity is laid upon me; yea, Wo is unto me, if I preach not the Goſpel. The ſtyle indeed is plain, and unpoliſht; Fancies and Flourishes become not our mourning Weeds. If thou art a Mourner in Zion, thou canſt not take it amiſs, to ſee a Text cloathed in Sackcloth. I have nothing here to ſtay your eyes, for my Errand is to your Hearts; at theſe doors I am come to knock, the Word knocks, the Rod knocks, the Spirit knocks; Cant. 5.2.Open to me, my Siſter, my Love, my Dove, my Undefiled, for my head is filled with the dew, and my Locks with the drops of the Night. 'Twas the Rich mans vain Requeſt, Luke 16.27. That one might be ſent from the Dead, to vvarn his brethren; and 'twas denyed him; but (in a ſence) granted you: God hath ſent you a Meſſenger from the Dead; a Dry Bone, to plead vvith you; O, Let the Dead praiſe the Lord on your account, ſo shall our dry bones live;1 Theſſ. 3.8. For now …e live, if ye ſtand faſt …n the Lord. Remember! He that novv calls you, will short…y arraign you, when Hills and Mountains shall not hold you,Luk 23.30. nor hide you; He that how entreats you, shall …hortly Judge you, when theſe things shall be recognized, and more fully, and convincingly debated.2 Cor. 5.11. Knovving therefore the terrour of the Lord, we perſwade men. And, O Sirs! be perſwaded. God's twenty thouſands, Luk. 14.31.will be too hard for your te… thouſands: The Armie… of His Judgments ar… up; His Bloody Colours are in the Field and the Cruel, Unhappy Battel is begun; yet you may have Quarter, yet you may have you Lives, your Liberties, your Peace, and that on honourable terms. The Lord move you! turn you! ſave you! So prayes, and ſo will pray,
The Unworthieſt of thoſe that ſerve you, Or ſuffer for you in the Faith, L. N. Ab Eremis meis, Aug. 28. 1666.