Sermon at Westminster 22 August 1645, Sermon
A Sermon of Thankſgiving, for the taking of Bridgewater and Sherborn Caſtle in the Weſt.
ISAI. 43.14.
Thus ſaith the Lord your Redeemer, the holy One of Iſrael; For your ſakes have I ſent to Babylon, and have brought down all their Nobles, and the Caldeans, whoſe cry is in the ſhips.
IT is the glory of God, Hab. 3.2.That in the midſt of Judgement he remembreth Mercy. This glory of God beams it ſelf forth moſt beautifully in the later part of this Evangelical Prophecie, from the 40 Chap. to the end. This people of Iſrael were as yet hardly in Captivity: nay, the Prophets of God were but foretelling of it in their Sermons to the people; when God ſends this Goſpel-Prophet Iſaiah with an Olive-branch of good tydings in his mouth, promiſes of redemption and deliverance out of Captivity, as ſo many Cordials and Preſervatives to prevent deſponding and deſpairing thoughts, as if God meant utterly to caſt off his people, and to leave them to miſcarry and periſh in Babylon.
My Text is one of thoſe promiſes, wherein, though the Captivity (as I ſay) were not yet begun, God ſpeaks of it as if it were already expired, and Iſrael already reſcued and redeemed out of it.
Thus ſaith the Lord your Redeemer, the holy One of Iſrael, For your ſakes I have ſent to Babylon, &c.
The opening of the Text.
I will briefly open the words to you, and then drive up ſuch Obſervations as they will naturally afford; ſome on whereof I will ſingle out, for the Subject of my preſent Diſcourſe.
Thus ſaith the Lord] Jehovah, he that hath power enough to make good his promiſes; for he is Jehovah, The Fountain of Beings, his own, and every things elſe that hath a being; and therefore is able to give a being to his promiſes.
Your Redeemer] The God and Creator of all things, and of all men; but Your Redeemer, that redeems you from Hell and Wrath to come: That redeemed you from Egypt, and from all the Nations whither you have been carried away captive; and will redeem you from Babylon alſo. He is willing, as well as able; for he is your Redeemer.
The holy One of Iſrael] Holy in himſelf, eſſentially holy: Holy in his Covenant and Promiſes. Therefore called, The holy One of Iſrael; i. e. faithfull in Covenant made with Abraham, Iſaac and Iſrael. There is his ſidelity.
For your ſakes] I ſhall open to you the meaning of that expreſſion anon, more ſeaſonably and fully then I can do here.
I have ſent to Babylon] &c. By the hand of Cyrus King of the Medes and Perſians.
A foreign deſcendit; diciturde inferiore conditione, ſervi ture & ſubjectione.And have brought down] (i.e. by Cyrus) foreign, deſcendere feci; I have cauſed to come down: or, I have brought into ſubjection, &c.
All their Nobles] foreign, which I finde diverſly tranſlated, as indeed the word is capable of various ſignifications.
Ar. Montanus, Calo &c.Some tranſlate it, Fugitivos; deſcendere feci fugitivos univerſos ipſos: I have brought down, or cauſed to come down, all their fugitives; becauſe the Hebrew root foreign ſignifies fugere, to flie.
In Conjugatione Kal.Others tranſlate it vectes, Bars, metaphorically, becauſe a bar doth as it were flee from one ſide of the gate or door to another.
Thus God promiſes Cyrus, Iſai. 45.2. I will break in pieces the gates of Braſſe, and cut in ſunder the Bars of Iron.foreign ſignificat vectis, quia tranſcurrit & quaſe fugit, ab uno extremo ad aliud.
Thereupon I conceive it is, that *Sanches.ſome do render it impedimenta, remoras, &c. all thoſe impediments and obſtructions which, as ſo many bars or bolts, did hinder ſo long the Expedition of Cyrus into Babylon: One whereof was the River Euphrates; which impediment or bar was removed or taken away by diverting of that River into divers other Chanels (made and prepared on purpoſe beforehand by the Army of Cyrus) that very night in which the Babylonians were carowſing and drinking themſelves drunk in their ſecurity, whereby the Medes and Perſians came in upon them, and ſlew them, while they little dream'd of any poſſibility of the enemies acceſſe that way into the Citie: Xenophon, lib. 7. Cyripaediae. Herod. li. 1. Theodor. Vatab. &c.Propheſied of by the Prophet Jer. 50 38. A drought is upon her waters: And ſo, Chap. 51.32.
Muri, Turres omniaque muni menta Babylonis. Cornelius a Lap.Some, by bars, underſtand their Walls, and Towers, and Strong-holds, and all the mighty Fortifications of Babylon, which ſeemed impregnable: And ſo the words muſt run thus: I have ſent to Babylon, and have cauſed all their Towers and Caſtles, and fenced Cities, and their invincible Fortifications (in their own opinion) to come down, and fall flat upon the ground before Cyrus his Army. As God threatned to do to Tyrus by the King of Babylon, ſo God threatens to do with the King of Babylon by Cyrus: Ezek. 26.9.He ſhall ſee engines of War againſt thy walls, and with his Axes he ſhall break down thy Towers. Zeph. 3.6.So, I have cut off the Nations, their Towers are deſolate.
Hierom, &c. quia fortes ſunt & potentes.Others, by foreign, underſtand Reges, Principes, The King and Princes of Babylon; becauſe they are, or ſhould be, the bars and ſtrength, defence and ſafety of a Kingdom; and ſo our Tranſlators have rendred it, I have brought down their Nobles: And thus they are threatned, Jer. 50.35. Jer. 50.35.A ſword is upon the Caldeans, ſaith the Lord, and upon the inhabitants of Babylon, and upon her Princes, and upon her wiſe men.
And thus it follows in my Text:
And the Caldeans] i.e. As in that place of Jer. The inhabitants, or the common-people of Babylon; not onelyonly the Nobles and great Commanders, but upon all the people, all the military forces of Babylon; called, Jer. 50.37. The mingled people that were in the midſt of her. The King of Babylon having hired Souldiers of all Nations to ſerve in his Army: Why now, ſaith God, All theſe have I brought down; that is, made to fall or flee before the Medes and Perſians.
Whoſe cry is in the ſhips] In navibus gloriantes, or ovantes; who boaſt and glory in their Shipping: So ſome. But I conceive it rather, it is meant of the cry and howling they made while either they were fleeing from the Medes and Perſians in Ships, the paſſages by land being ſtopt up, as Jer. 31.31. or while they were carried away priſoners by the Medes and Perſians in ſhips: Their cry went up to heaven.
In a word, God here promiſes to break in pieces all the power and ſtrength of Babylon, to daſh the whole Empire in pieces, like a Potters veſſel, before Cyrus; that ſo the priſon-doors might be opened to his poor Iſrael, that had lien priſoner and captive in Babylon now ſeventy yeers, their Iron bolts might be ſtricken off, and they ſet at liberty to return home to Sion, with joy and gladneſſe upon their heads. So ſpeaks God of Cyrus: Iſai. 45.13.I have raiſed him up in righteouſneſſe, and I will direct all his ways; he ſhall build my Citie, and he ſhall let go my Captives, not for price nor reward, ſaith the Lord of Hoſts.
The words now thus opened, I come to the Obſervations.
1 Obſerv.
And firſt, from the circumſtance of time when this promiſe was made; namely, ſome hundreds of yeers before the Captivity was brought upon them: Obſerve,
While God is yet bringing his people into trouble, yea, but yet threatning of them with trouble; he is meditating and contriving the ways and means (as I may ſo ſay) of bringing them out of their troubles.
Hence it is, that the means of deliverance are not to ſeek when the time of deliverance is come. God hath his Balſoms prepared, before he wounds his people; his Cordials, before he makes them ſick with his Coraſives. 2 Pet. 2.9.The Lord knows how to deliver the goldly out of temptations.
The means are prepared beforehand. This may miniſter abundance of comfort to the people of God; even while they are entering into, or lying under their afflictions; while they are entering into the hour of Temptation: Why the means of their deliverance and enlargement are all prepared and fitted already, by the hand of a wiſe and faithfull Redeemer.
But again, This ruine of Babylon, and enlargement of Iſrael, is ſpoken of (here) as a thing done already: I have ſent (ſaith God) to Babylon, and brought down their Nobles, &c. ſome indeed read it in the future tenſe, I will ſend to Babylon, and will bring down their Nobles: The Hebrew indeed bears both; But truely, the future tenſe is not ſo emphaticall as the preterperfect tenſe, which God uſeth to expreſſe the certainty of his promiſes: From whence,
2. Obſerv. The promiſes of God are as certain, as if they were already accompliſht: Here is more comfort for the people of God: The promiſes of God, are as good money as any they have in their purſes.
To this end, ſee further how this promiſe is guarded and backt, with what ever may ſtrengthen Faith: For
1. Here God layes his credit and reputation to ſtake upon this promiſe. Thus ſaith the Lord.
2. He engageth his Power and All-ſufficiency. Jehovah a fountain of Beings; and therefore able to give a Being to his promiſes.
3. His Love, his tender care of his people, though ſcorned and perſecuted by the world; yet he is their Redeemer: there is his willingneſſe.
4. His fidelity; The Holy One of Iſrael: If he deny his Covenant, his promiſe, he muſt deny himſelf, his Holineſſe.
And from all this,
3. Obſerv. God in making his promiſes, is very ſollicitous and carefull to ſecure the faith of his people, about the making of them good.
It implies two things:
1. Much infidelitie and unbelief even in Iſrael.
2. The great goodneſſe and compaſſion of God, who when he might puniſh the unbelief of his people, ſtudies to ſuccour it: According to the prayer of the Father of the poſſeſſed childe, Mark 9.24.I beleeve, Lord help my unbelief.
But further, The Lord your Redeemer.
4. Obſerve in the fourth place,
God gives himſelf out to his Church and people, in no wayes ſo much, as in wayes of Redemption.
Indeed, One creation would ſerve their turn, but they ſtand in need of many Redemptions:
Or thus,
God is properly and peculiarly the God of his Church and people, by way of Redemption.
He is the Creator of the Juſt and unjuſt, good men and wicked, Angels and Divels: But he is a Redeemer, onelyonly and properly, to his Church.
And this implies alſo two things:
1. The Churches forlorn condition in her ſelf; Iſaiah 49.21.a poor lost captaive: She loſeth her ſelf, ſhe ſells her ſelf at every turn: The world takes her captive, ſin takes her captive, Hell takes her captive: Had ſhe not a God to redeem her, ſhe were loſt for ever.
2. The care, and love, and goodneſſe of God, in reſcuing and redeeming her: She ſells her ſelf by her ſins, God purchaſeth her; She loſeth her ſelf, God ſeeks her up; She is taken captive, by men and divels, God redeems her: Here be the tender mercies of a God.
The Holy One of Iſrael: See
5. Obſerv. Such is the love God bears to his Church and people, That he doth not onelyonly put his Name upon his people, but takes his peoples name upon himſelf.
It is much, that Iſrael ſhould be called The Iſrael of God: but that God ſhould be called The God of Iſrael, The Holy One of Iſrael; This is above all admiration.
Yet further; I have ſent to Babylon, ſc. by the Miniſtery of Cyrus, to deliver Iſrael out of priſon. The Babylonians thought Iſrael as ſure from ſtarting, as ever Herod thought Peter; Acts 12.6.at what time, He committed him to four quaternions of ſouldiers, and bound him with two chains between two ſouldiers, intending to have brought him forth the next day to be tryed for his life.
And poor Iſrael gave themſelves for loſt too; they thought it was as poſſible for a dead man to break out of his grave, as for them to get out of captivity: (the more was their unbelief, and God took it very unkindly, having made them ſuch gracious promiſes of deliverance) Ezek. 37.11.Behold, they ſay (ſaid God to his Prophet) our bones are dried, and our hope is loſt; we are cut off for our parts: And yet notwithſtanding, you ſee God had a way and a means, beyond all expectation, for their enlargement: He had an Army ready for this ſervice, that neither the Babylonians nor Iſrael little dreamt of. It is an obſervation of it ſelf.
6. Obſerv. When no way of deliverance appears to humane reaſon, God hath wayes in ſtore by him, for the Redemption of his Church and people, out of thoſe evills which ſeem to threaten inevitable ruine and deſtruction.
Again, I have ſent. Cyrus went, and yet God ſent: He went voluntarily, carried on by his own luſts: His pride, his covetouſneſſe, and unſatisfiable ambition, Hab. 2.5,6. and yet God ſends him upon a deſign which he little thought of: To let his Iſrael out of priſon. From whence,
7. Obſerv. Gods holy ends, and mans ſinfull ends, may ſweetly concur in the ſame action.
And it may teach us this point of prudence, Wiſely to diſtinguiſh between, what is Gods, and what is mans, in the ſame action: Man doth fooliſhly (many times) God doth wiſely; man weakly, God powerfully; man trecherouſly, God faithfully; man ſinfully, God moſt righteouſly. This will keep us from juſtifying the miſcarriages of men; and yet from murmuring againſt the wiſe and righteous diſpenſations of God.
I have brought down their Barres, i.e. as you have ſeen, all the power and ſtrength of Babylon.
8. Obſerv. From thence you may take an eighth Obſervation, viz. The ſtrongeſt, and ſcuningly most inconquerable impediments and obſtructions that ſtand in the way of the Churches deliverance, ſhall he all broken in peices, and become as dirt, when Gods time of deliverance is come.
Take the word as it is tranſlated, Their Nobles, that is, The King and Princes of Babylon: So tranſlated from their Office, and that will make a ninth Obſervation: ſc.
9. Kings and Princes, and the Nobles of a Land, they ought to be as Towers and Barres, ſtrength and ſafety, to a Kingdom and Nation.
The more ſad and deplorable is the condition of that people, whoſe Governours are ſuch as are deſcribed; Iſai. 1.23.Thy Princes are rebellious, and companions of theeves, &c. Zeph. 3.3.Zeph. 3.3.And Her Princes within her are roaring Lions, and her Judges are Evening Wolves, &c. The Lord have mercy on ſuch a people.
But from the whole, take this
10 and laſt Obſervation. In the mighty concuſſions and ſubverſions of the Empires and Monarchies of the World, God carries on the deſignes of his Churches deliverance and enlargement.
Or thus,
God for his Church and peoples ſake, will not ſpare to daſh Nations and Kingdoms all to peices, in the day of his power and jealouſie.
For your ſake have I ſent to Babylon, and brought down, &c.
I ſhall not be able in ſuch ſtraits of time, to travell through the Hiſtoricall part of this Doctrine; and to ſhew you by an induction of particulars, how in the breaking, and deſtruction of Kingdoms and Nations, God hath carried on the deſigne of his Churches enlargement.
Who raiſed up the righteous man from the Eaſt, called him to his foot, gave the Nations before him, and made him rule over Kings; he gave them as duſt to his Sword, and as driven ſtubble to his Bow.
So is it ſaid of Abraham, and the ſtory you have, Gen. 14. where you ſhall finde five Kings with their Armies, and ſpoil, given as duſt to Abrahams ſword, for Abrahams ſake, and the reſcue of Lot, his Brothers ſon, who was then carried captive by the numerous and potent enemy.
From that time forward, travell through the Scripture, and you ſhall finde the ruines of Egypt, Baſhan, the Amorites, and all the Kingdoms of Canaan; Paleſtina, Syria and Aſſyria; Babylon, both Old and New: Babylon Ethnick, and Babylon Antichriſtian, with other Monarchies and Empires of the World, ſtanding as ſo many Monuments and Witneſſes of this truth.
All that I intend in the Doctrinall part of this diſcourſe, is to open unto you the meaning of this expreſſion,
For your ſakes.
And I will be the ſhorter in it, that I may have the more time to beſtow in the Uſe.
Excludit his verbis omnem popult dignitatem, ne quid ſuo merito ſe adeptum fuiſſe glorietur, Calv.For your ſakes, I have ſent, &c. foreign Propter vos; for you, or for your ſake: We muſt be ſure to exclude all thought of merit in this and the like expreſſions: As when God promiſed Abraham to ſpare Sodom, for fifty ſake, and for fourty ſake, Gen. 18.26,29. And to defend Jeruſalem for his own ſake, and his ſervant Davids ſake, 2 King. 20.6. The worth and merit of the creature muſt be laid in the duſt.
But for you, or for your ſake, in this place may mean three things.
For your ſake, a threefold ſence.1. Firſt, For your ſake, i.e. In propitiationem veſtram, In your ſtead, or for your propitiation and attonement as it were. Pro hoſtia vel victima piaculari.So you have it more cleerly in the third Verſe of this 43 of Iſaiah, I gave Egypt for thy ranſome, Ethiopia and Seba for thee; i. e. For a propitiatory Sacrifice (as it were) to appeaſe my wrath towards thee; which the Antients were wont to call foreign, foreign homines facinoroſi pro Patriae luſtratione morti devoti, qui diris execrationibus obruti magno cum totius populi tripudio interficiebantur, Steph. foreign Sacri Homines, Budaeus.ſuch men who in the time of publike and common plagues, were either devoted to death by the people, or did willingly devote themſelves, to appeaſe (as they imagined) the anger of their gods, who were called Sacri homines, or devota capita, among the Latines; men curſed and devoted to death, to be as it were a propitiatory Sacrifice for their Countrey and Nation. Such was M. Curtius among the Romans, who in the time of a great caſm, or opening of the Earth in Rome, caſt himſelf into the Gulf, to appeaſe the angry deity. However, this was a blinde and unwarrantable ſuperſtition among the Heathen; yet the Text may allude to it.
I gave Egypt for thy ranſome, Ethiopia and Saba for thee; That is, when Sennacherib made his Expedition againſt Judah and Jeruſalem, to deſtroy and lay it waſte, Cyril.ego effeci ut pro Judaea Sennacheribo objiceretur Ethiopia, Egyptus & Saba quaſi victima piacularis loco Judeae ab eo mactanda. I cauſed him to return from Judah and Jeruſalem, and I diverted his Expedition upon Ethiopia and Egypt, and gave them as piacular Sacrifices, to be offered up to divine Juſtice, inſtead of Jeruſalem: I gave Egypt for thy ranſom. And thus God did once and again, as I might ſhew you had I time, out of Iſai. 37.9,37. propheſied of, Iſa. 20.4. According to that of the Proverbs 11.8. The righteous is delivered out of trouble, and the wicked cometh in his ſtead.
Gods people are the Iſaac ſpared and reſcued, when even the knife is at their throat; and the wicked, the enemies of the Church, as the Ram caught by the horns, and ſacrificed in their ſtead.
So here, Iſrael delivered out of Captivity, and the Babylonians ſacrificed in their room to Divine Juſtice, and God reconciled to Iſrael. Feci commutationem tuam Egyptum. Iſa. 43.4.And to this purpoſe the Septuagint read it, I have given Egypt, &c. by way of exchange for thee: And ſo the Text reads on, I will give men for thee, and people for thy life.
This may be the firſt ſenſe: For thee, or for thy ſake.
2. For thee; In commodum tuum, In liberationem tuam. I have ſent Cyrus to Babylon for thee; that is, for thy good, for thy enlargement and deliverance out of Captivity, to ſerve thee, as Iſai. 45.13. He ſhall let go my captives, &c.
3. But yet further, for thee may imply reſpect had by God, in ſending Cyrus to Babylon, to his people, though not by way of merit, yet by way of motive, and that in a fourfold reſpect.
1. The love he bears to their perſons: God hath an high eſteem of his people. So he tells them in the fourth verſe of this Chapter: Iſa. 43.4.Since thou waſt precious in my ſight, thou haſt been honourable, and I have loved thee; therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life. So God loves his people, that, rather then they ſhall miſcarry, Nations and people ſhall go to confuſion. Pſal. 116.15.Precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of his Saints: Yea, ſo precious, that God accounts the world no better then the firſt Chaos, unleſſe he have a people of his own to dwell in it: Iſa. 45.18.For thus ſaith the Lord that created the heavens, God himſelf that formed the earth and made it; he eſtabliſhed it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited. It is an argument whereby God comforts his people, That he will ſave his Iſrael, verſ. 17. But Iſrael ſhall be ſaved in the Lord, &c. What ſecurity? Heaven and Earth; both were loſt, if Iſrael be not ſaved: He created it not in vain. It is in vain (ſuch is Gods love) if he have not an Iſrael to inhabite it.
2. The love the Lord bears to their prayers. Look in what language the Church prays, Iſa. 63.17 Iſa. 63.17.Return for thy ſervants ſake, the tribes of thine inheritance; in the ſame God anſwers them here: For your ſake have I ſent to Babylon. So runs the promiſe; Iſa. 65.24.Before they call, I will anſwer, and while they are yet ſpeaking, I will hear. Hezekiahs prayers are an hook in the noſtrils, and a bridle in the lips of the Babyloniſh Plunderer, Iſa. 37.25, &c. compared with verſ. 29.
I tell, The Saints of the Moſt High God can pray down Empires, and Kingdoms, and the Towers, and Caſtles, and Walls of the proudeſt enemies: It is ſafer ſtanding before the mouth of a Canon, then before the prayers of the Saints.
The Queen of the Scots.You know who feared the prayers of Knox more then all the Forces of England. Indeed the prayers of the Saints are the plagues of the world. It is obſervable, Revel. 8.3,4,5. that Cenſer which received the prayers of the Saints, emptied forth fire, and voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and earthquakes, &c. that which went up, Prayer, comes down plagues.
No wonder ſince Chriſt is ſo taken with the prayers of his Church, that by his good will he would never have the ſound of that Muſick out of his ears. Oh my Dove, that art art in the clefts of the rock, in the ſecret places of the ſtairs; let me ſee thy countenance, and hear thy voice: For ſweet is thy voice, &c.
3. The Relation wherein the Saints ſtand towards God, takes much upon his heart: Servants, Sons, Daughters, Friends, the Spouſe of Chriſt. Why what will not a man do for theſe Relations ſake? And will not the great God much more engage himſelf for his people which ſtand in this Relation to him, ſince he is the Fountain of all that love and fidelity which fills theſe Relations among men?
4. The Image of God is ſtampt upon them, and therefore he doth ſuch great things for their ſake. Heb. 1.3. cum Epheſ. 4.24. & Coloſſ. 3.10.As Christ is the Image of God, ſo the Saints are the Image of Chriſt; inſomuch that you may hear God ſaying unto them, Zech. 2.8.He that toucheth you, toucheth the apple of mine eye.
In theſe reſpects God may be ſaid to do all theſe things for his peoples ſake; ſc.
For the love he bears to their
Perſons,
Prayers,
Relation,
Image.
And yet all theſe may be reſolved into an higher fountain, out of which all theſe do flow; and it is fourfold alſo. I will but name them.
1. For free graces ſake; as in that Proclamation, Exod. 33.19. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will ſhew mercy on whom I will ſhew mercy.
2. For his Covenants ſake. Pſal. 105.8.He hath remembred his Covenant for ever; the word which he commanded to a thouſand generations. Pſal. 106.45. Pſal. 111.5.And he remembred for them his Covenant. He hath given meat to them that fear him, he will ever be mindfull of his Covenant.
God looks upon his Covenant, and then accounts it but his engagement to do great things for his people.
3. For his Christs ſake: So Daniel prayed, when he wreſtled with God for this very mercy which here God promiſeth, Dan. 9.17.Deliverance out of Captivitie. O our God, hear the prayer of thy ſervant, and his ſupplications, and cauſe thy face to ſhine upon thy Sanctuary which is deſolate, for the Lords ſake.
Iſa. 49.8,9. & 42.1. Matth. 3.17.Chriſt is his Fathers Darling, his Beloved, in whom his ſoul delights; and God looks upon his redeemed through Chriſt, and his ſoul is delighted in them alſo. Epheſ. 1.6.He hath made us accepted in the Beloved. After he hath beſtowed a Chriſt upon them, he thinks nothing too good or too much for their ſake. He that ſpared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how ſhall he not with him alſo freely give us all things? After he hath redeemed them from eternall death, with the Blood of his Son, he will not ſtick to redeem them from temporall Deſtruction, with the blood of his and their enemies. I will give men for thee, and people for thy life.
For his Name. His Name is called upon his people.
Iſa. 43.6.Bring my ſons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth.
Iſa. 43.7.7. Every one that is called by my Name; for I have created him for my glory, &c. Their name is called upon God, and Gods Name is called upon them. If they periſh, his Name ſuffers, his Glory ſuffers; they bear his Name, which is his Glory; and therefore Joſhua took the advantage of this argument, when he pleaded for Iſrael; Joſh. 7.9.What wilt thou do to thy great Name? q. d. Though Iſrael deſerves to ſuffer, thy Name doth not deſerve to ſuffer; in ſaving Iſrael, thou ſhalt preſerve thine own Name: and upon theſe terms God is reſolved to ſave them.
Iſa. 48.9. For my Names ſake I will defer mine anger, and for my praiſe will I refrain for thee, that I cut thee not off.
10. Behold, I have refined thee, but not with ſilver, &c.
11. For mine own ſake, even for mine own ſake, I will do it; for how ſhould my Name be polluted? and I will not give my glory to another.
God deſtroys the enemie for his peoples ſake, becauſe he hath loved and choſen them for his own ſake, his Names ſake.
And thus I have ſhewed you the ſenſe and meaning of this expreſſion, For your ſake, and the ſpring and fountain of that ſenſe.
And this ſhall ſuffice for the Doctrinall part of my Text: I come now to the Ʋſe and Application.
Ʋſes.
And there are but two Uſes I will ſpeak to:
1. Information,
2. Exhortation.
Ʋſe.
It may ſerve, firſt, to inform us, and that in divers particulars:
1. Branch of Information.
Firſt, To diſcover to us the difference of mercies. Some mercies you ſee there be, which God beſtows on his people for their ſake; Deliverances from, and victories over their enemies: God ſubdues and deſtroyes Armies, and Countreys, and Nations; before them; and all this he doth for his peoples ſake; he hath reſpect to them in ſuch works as theſe be: But ſome works there be, which God doth onelyonly for his own ſake; ſuch as are
Predeſtination] Epheſ. 1.5.Having predeſtinated us to the Adoption of Children to himſelf, according to the good pleaſure of his will. To himſelf; and the good pleaſure of his will: The good pleaſure of his will, the ground; and to himſelf, the end.
Juſtification] Tit. 3.7.Juſtified by his grace, no other ingredient goes into Juſtification by way of Motive, but onelyonly Free-grace.
Iſai. 43.25.So Pardon of ſin, which is a part of Juſtification: I even, even I am he that blotteth out thy tranſgreſſions, for my own ſake; and ſo their everlaſting ſalvation. Epheſ. 2.5.By grace ye are ſaved.
In theſe mercies, the people of God come not in ſo much as by way of motive, much leſſe by way of merit: But God doth theſe meerly and immediately for his own ſake.
The reaſon of this difference is, becauſe theſe temporall mercies and deliverances, finde them the people of God; but election, juſtification, &c. make them the people of God; thoſe finde them qualified perſons; theſe beſtow theſe qualifications upon them: And therefore learn to diſtinguiſh of mercies, and to prize, and put in for your ſhare in thoſe mercies, which purely and unmixtly are in, and from, and for, and to himſelf.
Iſai. 55.3.The ſure mercies of David.
Second branch of Information. See and admire the love of God to his Church and people: They were taken out of the ſame pit, and hewn out of the ſame rock, with the reſt of the world; they had all one Father and Mother, and yet ſee what a difference God makes between them: Surely, as much as he makes between men, and the beaſts of the earth; he gives them as bread to his people to feed upon, he makes them as ſacrifices for the expiation of his wrath towards his people; when his wrath goes forth armed as it were againſt his people, he commands it to turn aſide, and ſatisfie it ſelf with the blood of mighty Nations, and great ones of the world, that riſe up againſt the Church. He makes them but as the Rams to be ſacrificed to divine Juſtice in the room of his Iſaacs.
And if this be ſuch an honour; What is it then, that he gave his own onelyonly Son, not the Creature, but the Creator, Heb. 1.3. Iſai. 53.6. Rom. 8.32. John 6.55.The brightneſſe of his glory, and the expreſſe form of his perſon, to be a Sacrifice of Expiation, a Propitiation; to be as it were, a devotum Caput, upon which, he layes the iniquities of all his Elect; to deliver him up to death for them; and then to give his Body and Blood to be their ſpirituall meat and drink, to life eternall?
Here is love indeed; Love above all expreſſion, above all admiration. John 3.26.So God loved the world, &c. Oh, labour to get intereſt in this Love, and you are made for ever.
Thirdly, Take notice how vainly and ignorantly the Philoſophers and other wiſemen of the world, have diſcourſed of the Riſe and Ruine of the Nations and Kingdoms of the world: They have dreamt of the periods of Monarchies and States; Vid. Victor. Strigel. Aphoriſ. Polit. & Johan. a Cokier Aphoriſm. Polit.The … whereof ſome make 50, ſome 100; ſome 300, the … 500 yeers; the great Aſtrologers have conſulted the Stars, and the Influences, and Houſes of the Heavens: But they have not conſulted the God of the Stars, the Maker and Upholder of Heaven and Earth: They have not conſulted Gods Oracles, where this great Myſtery is revealed; and the Reaſons and Cauſes of all theſe alterations and confuſions that befall the great and mighty Empires and Dominions of the World, diſcovered to the ſons of men; namely, the deliverance and enlargement of the Church, and therein the propagation and exaltation of the Kingdom of his dear Son, the Lord Jeſus Chriſt, the great end of ends, they have been ignorant of: The wayes of God they have known.
And as blinde and ignorant are the Kings and Nations of the world, who while they make war one with another, pull down and deſtroy each other, as here the Medes and Perſians come to conquer and ſubdue the Babylonian Empire, little know or conſider who ſets them on work, as God ſpeaks to Cyrus; Iſai. 45.4. Nihil minus vulgo creduum fuit quam illius Monarchae ruina cencuſſum ſuiſſe orbent ut in patriam redirent Judaei qui tunc abjectiſſimi erant in hominum oculis, Calv.I have ſirnamed thee, though thou haſt not known me; and I girded thee, though thou haſt not known me. He did not know who ſet him on work; he took notice of nothing but his own ends; the enlargement of his own Empire; He thought he was his own man. As when God ſent Iſrael into Captivity, the Babylonian Tyrant minded nothing but his own luſts, his pride, and his cruelty, his ambition, and covetouſneſſe; and yet he was but Gods Rod and Staff, to beat and correct his hypocriticall, and rebellious children. Iſai. 10.5,6,O Aſſyrian, the rod of mine anger, &c. Verſe 7.Howbeit, he meaneth not ſo, neither doth his heart think ſo, but it is in his heart to deſtroy and cut off Nations not a few; So when he brought them out of Babylon, Cyrus thinks he goes upon his own errand, howbeit, God tells him, For Jacob my ſervants ſake, and Iſrael mine elect, I have even called thee by Name.
The Nations, and their Kings and Emperours, are doing Gods work, and the Churches work, when they think not of it: God ſends them, and they think they go about their own buſineſſe.
Fourth branch. Hence alſo, We may ſee upon … …iſadvantage the enemies of the Church, be they never ſo … and potent, come to make war with the Saints. They come to fight with a generation great in Gods eyes, his favourites, before whom God contemns the Nations, and deſpiſeth the perſons of Kings and Emperours.
Pſal. 105.Verſe 15. When they went from one Nation to another, and from one Kingdom to another people, (ſc. From Egypt to Canaan.)
Verſ. 14. He ſuffered no man to do them wrong, but rebuked Kings for their ſakes:
Verſ. 15. Saying, Touch not mine anointed; and do my Prophets no harm.
A Text which Kings and Potentates ſhall know, that they and their Paraſites have miſtaken and abuſed; when God ſhall write the true and ſad interpretation thereof in their blood, for his deſpiſed peoples ſake.
Truely, When Princes and their people combine and conſpire to come from afar, with their united forces to battle with the Church, it is but many times to bring their own Throats to be cut, to ſave the people of God the labour of longer marches, and harder ſieges. Conſult at your leiſure theſe two famous places, Joſh. 11.1,2,3,4,5. with verſes 19, 20. and Mich. 4.11,12,13.
Fifthly, This Doctrine takes away all ground of boaſting, and contention, about the Inſtruments which God uſeth in bringing down the ſtrength and pride of the enemy. There is this obſervation lapt up in the bowels of it; ſc. That God gives not victories alwayes for their ſakes that fight the battles of the Church, but for the Churches ſake, whoſe battles (under the Lord of Hoſts) they are.
Cyrus here, goes up to Babylon, hath notable and wonderfull ſucceſſes; it was not for his ſake (he knew not upon what ſervice he went) but for Iſraels ſake; For your ſake I have ſent to Babylon.
I ſpeak not this to obſcure and eclipſe the praiſe of any, whoſe fidelity and valour, in the dangerous and daring undertakings of this later age, have deſerved as highly from this Nation, as ever any did ſince the foundations of this Kingdom were laid: Judges 5.9.No, My heart is toward the worthies of Iſrael, that offered themſelves willingly among the people: Praiſe ye the Lord.
I ſpeak it onelyonly to this end, that people may not lay more upon acts of providence, then they will bear. I ſpeak it to the ſame end, that the Apoſtle layes in his Caution about faithfull Miniſters of the Goſpel, 1 Cor. 4.6.That you be not puffed up for one against another: That that which is undoubtedly matter of joy and thankfulneſſe to all, might not through the corruption of our natures, and the wilineſſe of the tempter, be turned into an occaſion of pride and contention to any. That that may not divide us, which rightly improved, might be an happy means to reconcile and unite us. Jere. 9.24.He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.
Second Uſe. Exhortation.
Hath God in the great turnings of States and Kingdoms upſide down, in breaking Monarchies and Kingdoms, and all the Malignant powers of the earth, an eye to his Church, reſpect to his people? Doth God do theſe great things for his Churches ſake? For his peoples ſake? See then how much we ſtand engaged to God this day. Hath not God (my Brethren) done as much for England, as ever he did for Iſrael? Hath not God for Englands ſake, ſent to Babylon, and brought down all their Barres?
You may pleaſe to obſerve, That ever after Iſrael was in Babylon, all the enemies of the Church, to the end of the world, are called Aſſyrians, as Mich. 5.5. This man (ſpeaking of Chriſt) ſhall be the peace when the Aſſyrian ſhall come into our Land, &c. Revel. 14.8. and 16.19. and 17.5. and 18.2,10.And Babylonians, eſpecially Rome, with all the Antichriſtian enemies of the Church, they are called Babylon. Rome is Babylon, and all the Popiſh and Antichriſtian multitude, are Babylonians; which now in theſe three Kingdoms have taken up Arms againſt Chriſt, his Government and people; and what a ſad thing is it my Brethren, to ſee our King in the head of an Army of Babylonians, refuſing as it were to be called, the King of England, Scotland, and Ireland, and chuſing rather to be called, the King of Babylon, &c. This is a Lamentation, and ſhall be for a Lamentation. The Lord us help to mourn for it in our ſecret Chambers.
But now I ſay, hath not God in a great meaſure fulfill'd my Text upon our Babyloniſh enemies, in bringing down their Barres? take them in which of the ſenſes you will, abovementioned; take them with Sanches for Impedimenta, &c. The Impediments and Remora's, which lay in the way of Reformation, and Deliverance of Gods people out of that Romiſh bondage, wherein they and the Ordinances were taken Captive; (for though we were not in Babylon, yet Babylon was in the midſt of us: Rome was among us, though we were not in Rome) Prelacy, and the Prelaticall Clergy, Prieſts and Jeſuites, Ceremonies and Service-Book, Star-Chambers and High-Commiſſion Court, with all the appurtenances: Theſe were mighty impediments and obſtructions in the way of Reformation and Deliverance; and God hath mightily brought them down.
Take Bariach with Jerome, for principes populi: God hath pretty well brought them down too. The Malignant Nobility and Gentry of the Kingdom have known to their coſt, what it is to oppoſe God, and riſe up againſt Chriſt, would they ſee the hand of God, now it is lifted up.
Next to the Biſhops and Popiſh Clergy of the Land, they have been the greateſt ſcorners and oppoſers of Reformaon, and active Incendiaries in this combuſtion, the flames whereof have devoured Amos 7.4.the great deep, and eaten up a part: Ireland almoſt conſumed, and a great part of England and Scotland laid waſte. I ſay, God hath ſo broken, and brought them down, that we may in a great part tranſlate the words in my Text, as ſome do, Calvin and others.Omnes illi fugitivi; They are all fugitives: Flie b…yond Sea.God hath made many of them flie, and others of them fall, before you and your Armies; ſo that that Propheſie ſeems to reckon upon our times: Iſaiah 5.9.In mine ears, ſaith the Lord of Hosts, of a truth many Houſes ſhall be deſolate, even great and fair, without Inhabitant.
Or if we take Bariach for Muri, Turres, porta, omniaque munimenta; Hath not God brought them down, and laid them low, as flat, as ever the Walls of Jericho, before your Armies?
I want time and memory to liſt, and file up the names of thoſe ſtrong Holds, and ſeemingly impregnable Fortifications which God hath brought down, even of late, and delivered up into the hands of your Armies, (to paſſe by in ſilence theſe great things done formerly ſince the beginning of theſe Civill Wars.)
Shrewsbury, Leiceſter, Scarborough, Pomtefract, Stoakeley-Caſtle in Shropſhire, Cannon Froom, taken by our Brethren of Scotland; The Garriſon at Highworth Church in Wiltſhire, Bridgewater, Bathe, and Sherborn-Caſtle, ſome of the mercies which we this day celebrate.
And thus God hath brought down their Bars in every ſenſe.
There is another word in the Text, that we muſt take in, and that is, The Chaldeans, i. e. All the Military ſtrength and forces of Babylon; the Armies that the King of Babylon had raiſed in all his Empire, to make reſiſtance againſt the Medes and Perſians, ut ſupra. And hath not God brought down theſe alſo before your Victorious Forces? Not to mention Edgehill, Newbury, York, &c. Surely, the marchings of your new Model, under that renowned Generall, Sir Thomas Fairfax, that deſpiſed, and deſpaired Army; deſpiſed of enemies, and deſpaired of by friends, have been like the marchings of Joſhua, and the Army of Iſrael, under his conduct; of whom it is ſaid (when once Achan the Troubler of Iſrael, was diſcovered and removed) in the tenth of Joſhua: He went and took it, and ſmote it; he went and took it, and ſmote, &c. Seven or eight times over. And may we not reckon up ſeven or eight as glorious marches and ſucceſſes within ſeven or eight weeks? He went to Naſeby-field, and took and ſmote; and from Naſeby-field to Leiceſter, and took it and ſmote it; and from thence, our Joſhua paſſed to the ſiege of Taunton, and took, and delivered it from being ſmitten; and from thence, to the enemy in the field of Langport, and took them, and ſmote them; and from thence, to Bridgewater, and took it, and ſmote; and from thence, to Bathe, and took it, and ſmote it; and from thence to Sherborn-Caſtle, and took it, and ſmote it; ſave onelyonly, that did not lie ſo expreſſely in the Commiſſion of this Joſhua, to ſmite, as it was in the Commiſſion of that Joſhua, which you may read, Deut. 7.2. And when the Lord thy God ſhall deliver them before thee, thou ſhalt ſmite them, and utterly deſtroy them; thou ſhalt make no Covenant with them, nor ſhew mercy unto them The ſword of our Joſhua hath ſhewn more mercy; And I wiſh it may ſo convince and gain the poor deceived people in the Weſt, and other places; that they will not ſtand out to their own deſtruction.
Never Hiſtory ſince Joſhua's dayes, can file up ſo many glorious Victories, upon ſuch long and tedious marches, accompliſhed by one Army in ſo ſhort a time.
The fruits whereof are,
1. The breaking in pieces the ſtrongeſt Armies that the King had in this Kingdom, which ſcorned and curſed your new Model, as much as ever the great Philiſtine did little David; but God made it a formidable inſtrument in his hand; ſuch a one, one would think that very inſtrument, propheſied of by the Prophet Iſaiah: Iſa. 41.15.Behold (ſaith God) I will make thee a new ſharp threſhing inſtrument having teeth: thou ſhalt threſh the mountain, and beat them ſmall, and ſhalt make the hills as chaff. A new inſtrument indeed this was, after your old was broken; and it had teeth: The proud enemy thought it was a toothleſſe inſtrument that could not bitte; but they have felt, to their coſt, that it hath teeth, ſharp teeth: Surely theſe teeth have torn their fleſh, and broke their bones in peices: and it hath threſht the mountains. I think thoſe mountains and hills, thoſe proud preſumptuous and blaſphemous Armies, have been pretty well threſht by this New inſtrument in the hand of our Redeemer; it hath beaten them even to duſt and chaff in the high places of the field.
Is there any of them here that jeered and ſcorned that New Inſtrument? that have deſpiſed that New Model, as if it conſiſted of a company of feeble unskilfull boys, rather then men of War: Sir, go home, and learn to confeſſe, The Lord of Hosts can make better Souldiers in a few days, then the Prince of Orange can do in many yeers.
2. A ſecond fruit is the relieving of our diſtreſſed friends in divers parts of the Kingdom, who cried unto our Generall, as ſometime the Gibconites did unto Joſhua, Come down quickly, and ſave us; for all the Kings of the Amorites are upon us.
And truely it may be ſaid of our worthy Generall, as then of Joſhua, Joſh. 10.9.He came up ſuddenly, and went up from Gilgal all night: Yea, many days and nights did our Armies and their worthy Commanders march to the relief of their Brethren, whoſe deſtruction elſe would have filled the Land with the ſaddeſt lamentations that ever have been heard in England ſince the beginning of this unnaturall War.
3. The diſperſing of the Club-men; a Plot of as dangerous and deſperate an aſpect as any ſince theſe Troubles began; and that the Contrivers of it (whoever they were) knew well enough; and had providence caſt that ſucceſſe upon the enemie, which he hath mercifully and miraculouſly bleſt and honoured your Armies withall, we had known, to our ſorrow, before this time.
4. The great and gracious hopes of a full and ſpeedy regaining of the Weſt, the poor almoſt-deſolate Weſt, which was as a garden of Eden before the enemy, but behinde him a deſolate Wilderneſſe.
My Brethren, behold a wonder; our Sun, contrary to the courſe of Nature, is riſen in the Weſt, where we were afraid it was going, if not gone down: But God hath wrought in as much wonder and more mercy for us, as once for Joſhua: He hath commanded the Sun ſtand ſtill in the Weſt; yea, as once for Hezekiah, he hath brought it back by many degrees which it was gone down in the Weſtern Horizon.
5. A fifth fruit is, The opening of the paſſages of Trade and Traffick, which a long time have been obſtructed, to the great impoveaiſhing of this City, and divers other Cities and Towns in the Kingdom.
6. The encouragement of your friends, and diſcouragement of your enemies at home and abroad: Your friends ſhall hear of the ſucceſſe God hath given to your Forces, and their hands ſhall be ſtrong, their hearts ſhall be comforted, and their ſpirits raiſed, concerning England. Enemies ſhall hear of it, and their hearts ſhall fail them, and their knees ſhall ſmite one againſt another, and none of the men of might ſhall finde their hands: yea, thouſands of them that were ſeduced and deceived by the lyes and flatteries of the enemies, ſhall come in, and fall down at your feet, and confeſſe that God is with you of a truth.
7. The Enlargement of thouſands of our dear and precious Brethren out of bonds and impriſonment, whoſe feet have been hurt in the Stocks, and the Irons have entred into their ſouls.
8. The hopes and beginnings of the reducing of Wales, four Counties already come in.
9. A door of Hope opened for gaſping Ireland.
10. And laſtly, which is all, A fair and hopefull poſſibility yea probability (if our murmure and unbelief do not wheel us back again into the wilderneſſe) of putting an end, this Summer, to the bleeding diſtractions of this poor languiſhing Kingdom, and of making a Peace upon your own terms.
Surely methinks God ſeems to tell you, You may be delilivered if you will; I am willing, if you be willing.
God hath given you gracious demonſtrations, that when men go faithfully and cordially about their buſineſſe, what a world of work may be done in a little time.
And now if you would know for whoſe ſake God hath done all this, my Text will tell you, For your ſakes have I ſent to Babylon. It is for his Church and peoples ſake. God hath a people in England, for whoſe ſake he hath ſent to Babylon, and brought down the cry of the Nobles, &c.
Who they be, or how you may know whether you be of the number of them for whoſe ſakes God hath done theſe things, I ſhall give an hint in the cloſe of the Work.
In the mean time, ſuffer, I beſeech you, the words of Exhortation: And it is this:
If God do ſuch great things for your ſake, thou be you exhorted to do great things for the Lords ſake.
The Church and people of God have been of ſuch a diſpoſition, that they have thought they could never do or ſuffer enough for the Lords ſake.
Pſal. 44.22.For thy ſake we are killed all the day long.
2 Cor. 12.10.I take pleaſure in infirmities, in reproches, in neceſſities, in perſecutions, in diſtreſſes, for Chriſts ſake.
And again: Acts 21.13.I am not onelyonly ready to be bound, but to die, for the Name of the Lord Jeſus.
O let the ſame minde be in you, that was in David, in Paul, and in the reſt of the Saints: Be ready to do, be readie to ſuffer: Be willing to live, be willing to die; and think nothing too much, for his ſake, who hath done ſuch great things for your ſakes.
I muſt crave leave to branch out this Exhortation to two ſorts.
1. To you Honourable and highly-honoured Senators of the Land.
2. To you the people of God that ſtand here this day, and the reſt of your brethren thorowout the Kingdom.
Firſt, to you the Worthies of Englands Parliament.
For your ſakes God hath ſent to Edge-hill, and to the North, and to the Weſt, and hath brought down the cry of their Nobles, &c.
God hath honoured you more then ever he honoured any Parliament ſince the foundations of this Kingdom were laid, and hath done as great things for you as ever he did for any Aſſembly of men, I think, ſince the foundations of the world were laid.
And now, Honoured Senatours, ſtudie your Renders, What ſhall I render to the Lord? &c. Studie what you ſhould do for the Lords ſake, who hath done ſo much for yours.
Will you give me leave to by your Remembrancer? I will do it with all Humility, Fidelity and Plainneſſe, being encouraged thereto by former experience of your candid and Chriſtian entertainment of the faithfulneſſe and faceneſſe of thoſe whom you have called to this Service.
Omme bonum quod ſuperbus ſibi arrogat ſupp…diaculum diabolo facit. Guil. Pariſ.Firſt therefore, for the Lords ſake, ſtudie Humility: You cannot exalt God, if you lift up your ſelves. And truely there be two things that do eaſily ſwell the heart with pride, if it be not well watcht; ſc. Greatneſſe, and Good ſucceſſe: Both theſe have been your portion; God hath lifted you up, and ſet you upon the higheſt Throne in the Kingdom, The Throne of Legiſlative power: Every one of you reſemble the perſon of a Prince; you are ſo many little kings.
And God hath given you admirable Succeſſes (ever ſince he call'd you together) to the aſtoniſhment of all that ſee or hear of the Lords goings forth with you and for you: O now take heed, I beſeech you, that theſe do not become temptations and ſnares to you, Deut. 17.20.whereby your hearts ſhould be lifted up above your brethren, that they ſhould become cheap and vile in your eyes. O let not that which ſhould lift up your heart in Thankfulneſſe, lift up your heart in pride and haughtineſſe.
You know how it fared with Hezekiah, though a very gracious King, and what the ſad conſequences of it was: But Hezekiah rendred not again according to the benefit done unto him; 2 Chron. 32.25.for his heart was lifted up; namely, upon his miraculous recovery, and the honour that was done him thereupon, by the King of Babylon.
Obſerve, I beſeech you, Hezekiah rendred not, &c. why? For his heart was lifted up. A proud man doth nothing for Gods ſake, though he thinks God doth all for his ſake. And what follows? Therefore there was wrath upon him, and upon Judah and Jeruſalem.
O Sirs, if ye have found your hearts thus lifted up, with Hezekiah, upon the honour and good ſucceſſes God hath caſt upon you; humble your ſelves in the preſence of God for the pride of your heart, as it is ſaid of Hezekiah in the next verſe, Why ſhould there be wrath upon you, and upon the whole Kingdom for your ſakes? The lower you lie, the higher you lift up God, and the higher God will lift up you.Humilitas ſemper volat licet repere videatur inſtar avis volitantis, alas ad ſolem habentis, roſtreque pendentis Guil. Pariſ. Perit omne judicium, ubi res tranſit in affectum.
2. For the Lords ſake take heed of ſelf-intereſts, and by-ends: Where theſe prevail, there can be nothing done for the Lords ſake: Either the Lords work is not done, or not done to his minde, or not for his ſake, which is all one with not doing of it at all, and will bring a curſe with it. Jer. 48.10.Curſed be he that doth the work of the Lord negligently.
Hence it was that Jehu's zeal in doing execution upon the houſe of Ahab, when God comes to reckon, is ſet upon the ſcore of Murder, Hoſ. 1. Jehu writes ſervice, God writes murder: Jehu ſets down zeal, God ſets down blood; and all becauſe he did the Lords work in the purſuit of his own baſe and ſinfull ends and intereſts. O that you would ſhake off theſe Vipers from your hands and hearts. If you will not ſhake them off, God will ſhake you off: If you will not ſhake theſe out of your boſoms, God will ſhake you out of his.
3. If you will do any thing for the Lords ſake, do this, Set up his Son upon his Throne; you cannot do any thing which the Lord will take more kindly at your hands: For the Father hath committed all Judgement (i. e. all Gov rnment) unto the Son, that men may honour the Son, as they honour the Father.
I am perſwaded, had this been done ſooner, England had not now been to have been delivered.
Jer. 10.7. Revel. 15.3.He is King of Nations, and King of Saints. As King of Nations, he hath a Temporall Kingdom and Government over the world now he is in heaven, though he exerciſed not ſuch a Kingdom while he was on earth; Matth. 28.18. 1 Cor. 15.25,27.the Father having now given to him all power both in heaven and earth; and the Rule and Regiment of this Kingdom he hath committed to Monarchies, Ariſtocracies, or Democracies, as the ſeverall combinations and aſſociations of the people ſhall between themſelves think good to elect and erect. God leaves people to their own liberty in this caſe. Submit your ſelves to every Ordinance of man, for the Lords ſake. for the Lords ſake. foreign, i.e. foreign. Gr. Schol. Civilis gubernationis diſpoſitio. Beza.The Greek reads it, foreign, To every humane Creation. Civill Government, in the kindes or ſpecies of it, is as it were but the creature of man, becauſe men may chuſe what kinde of Government they ſhall finde moſt advantagious to publike peace and welfare.
But Chriſt is alſo the King of Saints: As he hath an inward and Spirituall Government in the Conſcience, which is onelyonly his Throne; ſo he hath an outward Kingdom, which he doth viſibly exerciſe in his Church,
Which doth conſiſt of theſe Particulars:
1. In that he conquers and ſubdues a people to himſelf, who are viſible ſubjects of this Kingdom.
2. In that he gives Laws and Statutes to this people, diſtinct from all the Laws and Statutes of all the Kingdoms and Republiques in the world; as the Church acknowledgeth Iſa. 33.22.The Lord is our Judge, the Lord is our Law-giver, the Lord is our King, &c.
3. In that he appoints and conſtitutes ſpeciall Officers in this Church, not onelyonly to promulge theſe Laws, but to govern his people according to them … Matth. 28.19. Acts 20.28. Rom. 12.8. 1 Cor. 12.28. foreign. Presbyterorum ordinem declarat qui diſciplinae & Politiae Eccleſiaſtica cuſtodes erant.Go teach all Nations: Feed the flock whereof the holy Ghoſt hath made you overſeers. He that ruleth, with diligence. And God hath ſet in his Church Governments.
The ſpirit of the Prophets is ſubject to the Prophets, 1 Cor. 14.32.
4. In that he hath commanded all the people and ſubjects of this Kingdom to be obedient (in the Lord) unto theſe Officers. Heb. 13.7.Remember them that have the rule over you, &c. and, Verſ. 17.Obey them that have the rule over you. Who doth he mean here? the Civill Magiſtrate? No: for it is added, Which have ſpoken to you the Word of God; and, They watch for your ſouls, &c.
5. In that Chriſt hath appointed penalties to be inflicted upon the ſtubborn and diſobedient, proper to this Government: Matth. 18.17.Let him be to thee as an Heathen, &c. and put away from among your ſelves that wicked perſon, &c.
Now therefore ſince the Lord Jeſus is King of Nations, and King of Saints, ſet him up as both, in both his Kingdoms and Governments; and do it thorowly, and do it ſpecdily.
1. Do it thorowly. Would you have a thorow Deliverance, ſtudie a thorow Reformation of Church and State.
Think not, renowned Nobles and Patriots, of doing the work of Reformation by degrees, and piecemeal: It will be Chriſts Honour, and your Advantage, to let your Reformation come forth as full and honourable at firſt as may be: O it will ſtrike the more fear and awe into the hearts of people; it will be your honour in the eyes of your own people, and ſtrangers abroad, who will certainly ſay, O what Nation is there ſo great, who hath God ſo nigh unto them as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon him for? (ſurely Reformation is the great thing which the Saints this day in England and in the three Kingdoms have prayed for) And what Nation is there ſo great, that hath Statutes and Judgements ſo righteous as all that Law of Reformation is, which Englands Parliament have ſet up?
But now, let your Reformation be poor, and mean, and low at firſt, ſuch as wicked men may ſit ſecurely under; you diſcourage & kill the hearts of the godly that have been praying for you, and expecting a Reformation from you; encourage the common people to trample upon your Reformation, and the Miniſtery; and render your ſelves cheap and contemptible to all the reformed Churches, who do certainly ſtand at a gaze upon Englands Parliament and Aſſembly, expecting not onelyonly that you ſhould follow them, but that you ſhould hold forth to all the Chriſtian world the moſt full, pureſt and glorious Reformation that hath been ſince the Churches have begun to ſhake off the yoke of Antichriſtian Bondage.
You have done admirably in the deſtructive and purging part of Reformation: with Hezekiah, 2 Chron. 24.15,26.You have brought out the uncleanneſſe that was found in the Temple of the Lord. You have pulled up every plant which by our heavenly Father hath not planted, and taken out of his Kingdom whatſoever did offend; and the Lord bleſſe you for it.
Now therefore, that your work and your bleſſing may be compleat, ſtudie to be anſwerable in the poſitive and erective part of Reformation; that as you have left nothing that Jeſus Chriſt would have removed, ſo there may want nothing that Jeſus Chriſt would have ſet up in this New Model of Church-Government. Heb. 8.5.See that ye do all things according to the patern: ſo ſhall it be your honour, as it was Moſes, Heb. 3.2.To be faithfull to him that appointed him in all his Houſe. Do thorowly, that Chriſt may not be an underling in his own Houſe.
2. Do it ſpeedily.
Tell me, I beſeech you, what have you got by Delays? Who hath been a gainer by them? Not Jeſus Chriſt, not you, not the work of Reformation. I know none that have gained by theſe unhappie Obſtructions, but Hereſie, profaneneſſe, diviſion, and in all theſe the devil.
You cannot but know how it is in the Citie, and it would make your ſouls bleed to look into the Countrey, even thoſe that are under the Parliaments command (not to ſpeak of thoſe that lie under the Villanies and Violences of the enemy) I ſay it would make your bowels ake, and your hearts grieve, to ſee what a face of things there is in the Countrey; not ſo much truely as the face of a Church, a Garden of God; but the face of a Wilderneſſe; not a faithfull Miniſter perhaps in twenty Congregations; and where there is, they know not what to do with their Congregations, for want of a Government: So that in the mean time the greateſt part turn profane; and if one or two here and there peep out of the dungeons of Ignorance and Atheiſm, to enquire after the ways of God, preſently they are ſnapt up, and ſeduced into ſome way or other, of Hereſie or Schiſm, becauſe there is neither hand nor inſtrument to take theſe Foxes, Cant. 2.15.the little Foxes that ſpoil the Vines, that now begin to have tender Grapes. If you mean that England ſhall be turned into a wilderneſſe, and be over-run with Atheiſm, and Hereſie, and Prophaneneſſe, and Blaſphemy, you may hold your hands; and you need not do it long: But better it were, that England ſhould be overrun with fire and ſword; better it ſhould be devoured by plague and peſtilence; (the Arrows whereof flie ſo thick abroad, that they darken the very Heavens over our heads) till man and beaſt were deſtroyed off the face of this good Land, rather then this ſhould come to paſſe: Better judgement ſhould turn us into a Wilderneſſe, then ſin ſhould do it; better welter in our blood, then wallow in our lusts.
Therefore, for the Lords ſake, for the Lords ſake, and again I ſay, for the Lords ſake, make haſte; be through, be ſpeedy in your Reformation. Would you not ſtay long for a Deliverance, let not Chriſt ſtay long for a Reformation. In both reſpects, hear what an Heathen Emperour could adviſe and command: Ezra 7.2…Whatſoever is commanded by the God of Heaven, let it be diligently done for the Houſe of the God of Heaven; for why ſhould there be wrath againſt the Realm of the King and his ſons?
I ſhould come to the fourth particular; but that there is one thing as a branch of this third, which I deſire leav cumbly to commend unto you; and that is,
Concerning the Sacrament of the Lords Supper.
O, if you would expreſſe your love and zeal, and thankfulneſſe to God in any thing: If there be any thing wherein you would expreſſe your kindneſſe and fidelity to the Lord Jeſus; do it in this: There is not a neerer concernment, wherein you can gratifie God (if I may ſo ſay) then this; What hath God dearer to him, then his Son? And what hath his Son dearer to him, then his Body and Blood? Oh, look to it I beſeech you, that that be not prophaned and troden under feet by any unworthy perſon, ſo far as it is in your power to prevent it.
Herein you may do well to imitate the Biſhops, in building a Rail, or if that word like you not, change it a letter or two, and make a Rule about the Lords Table: But be ſure, make it ſo thick and ſo high, that not a Dog may creep through, or leap over, to eat the Childrens Bread; De occultis non judicat eccleſia.not one (I mean) that appears to be ſo; for ſecret things we muſt leave to the Lord to judge.
Let me humbly ask you one Queſtion.
Are there any kinde of ſinners think you, that Jeſus Chriſt would have excluded from that holy Myſtery? If any, then all of the ſame Nature and Influence; for what if you ſhould keep out ſeventy, yea, ſeven thouſand, ſins and ſinners from the Sacrament, 1 Cor. 11.27.and let but one ſcandalous ſinner come, would not he be found a Crucifier of the Son of God? yea, and (let me ſpeak freely) you too, if he come under your protection. But if Jeſus Chriſt would have all come promiſcuouſly to his Board; it is not in the power of Elderſhips, nor Claſſes, nor Aſſemblies, or Parliaments, nor any body in the World, to ſuſpend any one kinde of ſin or ſinner from that Holy Feaſt.
Honourable and Beloved: Your blood, and the blood of your ſons and daughters hath been precious in Gods eyes: O let the blood of the Son of God, be precious in your eyes. God hath not proſtituted your fleſh and your blood to any of your wicked enemies; O ſuffer not the fleſh and blood of the Lord Jeſus to be proſtituted to any of his wicked enemies. For ſuppoſe God ſhould ſay, The Iriſh ſhall not ſpill your blood; Prince Ruperts Army ſhall not drink your blood; Hoptons Army ſhall not; Gorings Army ſhall not; Greenvils ſhall not; the Clubmen ſhall not; and ſo name ſeven, yea, ſeven times ſeven Armies, and Nations, and yet give Commiſſion or leave but for one Army, one Nation, in all the world, to eat your fleſh, and drink your blood; what would it avail you, that the reſt were ſuſpended and reſtrained? O give not the Lord Jeſus occaſion to ſay of you, 1 Sam. 25.21.as ſometime David ſaid of Nabal: Surely, In vain have I kept all that theſe men have; I have been ſparing of their blood, and they have been prodigall of mine: Now therefore go blaſphemers, go drunkards, go Sabbath-breakers, go ye worſt of men, and eat their fleſh and drink their blood, and the blood of their ſons and daughters. O deal not ſo unkindly with the Lord Jeſus; to provoke him to jealouſie: Purge the Sacrament, and purge it throughly; And then haſten the ſetting up of that Ordinance in all Congregations (where there be a competent number fit for it.) Behold, the children cry for this bread, and there is none to give it unto them: Behold, The Spouſe of Chriſt is ſick of love and hunger; and therefore, haſten to ſtay her with this bread, and comfort her with theſe flagons, that ſhe may eat and drink, and her ſoul may bleſſe you before ſhe die.
Fourthly, For the Lords ſake do execution upon all the profeſſed and implacable enemies of the Lord Jeſus; who have ſaid and ſworn, Luke 19.14.This man ſhall not reign over us. Behold, Chriſt commands you, ſaying, Verſe 27.Bring them hither, and ſlay them before me. For your ſake God hath ſent to Babylon, and brought down your enemies, great and ſmall, and laid them dead at your feet; What can you do more anſwerably by way of return, for the Lords ſake, then to bring down his enemies, and ſlay them before his face? Behold, ſhall God for your ſake, not ſuffer Parliament-Traitors, and Parliament-Revilers, to live, and ſhall Chriſts Traitors, and Trinity-blaſphemers, eſcape your juſt and ſevereſt vengeance? God forbid. You had need to do ſomewhat as in vindictam ſo interrorem: For I tell you, Blaſphemy begins to be very bold and impudent; Eccleſ. 8.….Becauſe ſentence againſt evill doers, is not ſpeedily executed; therefore the heart of the ſons of men is fully ſet in them to do and utter evill. O draw out your ſword to execute judgement againſt ſuch enemies of Jeſus Chriſt, That others may hear and fear, and do no more ſo wickedly.
Fifthly, For the Lords ſake, Look to his poor Members that ſuffer: O hear the complaints of your poor Brethren that are oppreſt by inferiour Committees in any part of the Kingdom, that none that ſit under your ſhadow, may have juſt cauſe to ſay, You have pull'd down one Star-Chamber, and ſet up hundreds: Look to your wounded Souldiers; to the poor women that have been made widows, and children that have been made fatherleſſe in the Parliaments Service; Their cry is gone up to Heaven: O let their cry enter into your ears. Look to theſe Families, many whereof have been of good eſtates, that by this unnaturall War, and for owning you, and your work, have been driven from their habitations, deſtitute and naked, and have fled to this City of Refuge, (ſo God hath made London) to ſeek for ſhelter and relief: Or, O that you would give us leave to look to them, and provide for them; by making ſome other proviſions for your wounded Souldiers, that the Collections in the City, might be imployed for the relief of ſuch as are ready to give up the ghoſt at our doors, or lie languiſhing at home, chuſing rather almoſt to die, then to diſcover their wants and neceſſities. Know ye not that thouſands are ready to periſh for want of bread among us, and we have not wherewith to relieve their ſouls? This is a work that much concerns Jeſus Chriſt; for he hath ſaid it, Matth. 25.45.In as much as ye have done it to one of the leaſt of theſe, ye have done it unto me.
Sixthly, For the Lords ſake, Stand by your friends, and the friends of Christ and his Cauſe: Herein you ſtand by Jeſus Christ himſelf. The enemy have gained much (but the God would not ſuffer them to keep it) by their fidelity, or policy rather, to their friends. O come not ſhort of them in point of fidelity, nor let the children of this world be alwayes wiſer in their generations, then the children of light; Let none have juſt cauſe to ſay, We ſuffer for our good will to the Parliament, if you can help it: You have the better Cauſe; ſtand by it, and it will ſtand by you.
I come now to ſpeak a word in the laſt place, to all that ſtand before God this day; and the whole people of this Kingdom: God hath done great things for your ſakes alſo, as you have heard. And now what will you do for the Lords ſake?
There be but two or three things, that in this ſtrait of time, I ſhall commend to you as proper returns for theſe great deliverances and victories.
Firſt, Since God hath brought down your enemies abroad, do you labour to bring down his enemies at home. God hath avenged you in the blood of baſe and wicked men, do you avenge God in the blood of your baſe and ſinfull luſts. God hath pulled down the ſtrong holds of your enemies, and made them fall before you; do you down with theſe ſtrong holds within every one of you, 2 Cor. 10.5,6.whereby Jeſus Chriſt hath been kept out of your hearts. Brethren, better it is to periſh by the luſts of our enemies, then by our own luſts; and better the enemy had prevailed and blaſphemed God with their tongues, then we delivered to reproach and blaſpheme God by our lives. Hear what an angry queſtion God asks, Jer. 7.9,10.Will ye ſteal, murder, and commit adultery, and ſwear falſely, and burn Incenſe unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom we know not; and come and ſtand before me in this houſe, which called by my Name, and ſay, We are delivered to do all theſe abominations? O let us not be the reproach of victories; let us not ſin against, much leſſe ſin upon, ſin becauſe of our deliverances: It is pity fair weather ſhould do any harm. Deut. 32.6.Do ye thus requite the Lord, O fooliſh people, and unwiſe? O let us put theſe luſts to flight, to death; whoſe cry hath been in Gods ears, calling for vengeance ſo long, on us, and on the Nation: God hath given us the heads of our enemies; let us give God the heads of our corruptions.
Secondly, God hath made our enemies a Sacrifice for us, and we are as the Scape-Goat, as Iſaac. Rom. 12.1.I beſeech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye preſent your bodies a living ſacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, wichh is your reaſonable ſervice. This is indeed a reaſonable ſervice, that he that hath redemeed us, ſhould have us: 1 Cor. 6.20.Ye are bought with a price, therefore glorifie God with your bodies and ſouls, which are Gods.
Thirdly, Let us ſtill own the Cauſe, which we ſee God ſtill owns; and ſerve it with our Eſtates, our Counſells, our Prayers, our perſons, and if need be, our lives and blood: Chriſt hath not deſerted us, let not us deſert Chriſt. And to this purpoſe; Let us all, both Parliament and people, Remember our Covenant; Let us often read over our Covenant, and live up with our Covenant, and act up with our Covenant, and reform up with our Covenant. It is a fearfull thing to let a Covenant lie by the walls, as worm-eaten Paper; it is a fearfull thing to take a Covenant, as it were, for no other end then to aggravate our ſins; that as the Light turns ſin into rebellion, ſo the Covenant might aggravate rebellion into perjury. How may we expect for this, That God ſhould ſtrengthen the hand, and ſharpen the ſword of the enemy, which for a while he hath in mercy weakned and blunted, and let it in upon us, with Commiſſion, Levit. 26.25.To avenge the quarrell of the Covenant? O let us be wiſe to Salvation, and ſay with David, Pſal. 116.12,14.What ſhall I render to the Lord for all his mercies? I will pay my vows unto the Lord: And again, Pſal. 56.12.Thy vows are upon me, O God, I will render praiſe unto thee.
Now therefore, holy Bretheren, Partakers of the Heavenly Calling, let us every one in our ſtations and callings, ſtir up our ſelves to be active for God, who hath been mighty for us. And for your encouragement, take this precious, and I hope prevailing motive, (it is the hint and evidence I promiſed you even now; and with which I will conclude.)
Hereby we ſhall know that we are of the number of thoſe for whoſe ſake God hath done theſe great things, (and will do yet greater) when we finde our hearts raiſed and enlarged to do great things for him: By this we may know, God doth all for us, when we do all for him: He hears us when we have an heart to hear him. If we finde ſuch a frame of heart, here is comfort indeed; Deliverances, and deliverances for our ſake; Victories, and victories not onelyonly by divine leave, but with divine love, love to our perſons, and love to our prayers, &c. Theſe be deliverances indeed; Victories worth the having; victories of Gods Iſrael, Gen. 32.28.ſuch as of Jacobs, wreſtlers, have become Iſraels, Princes, to prevail with God and men.
O let us ſtudy this; It is the ſpirituall, and the beſt part of our mercies, a divine impreſſion, and argument of the love of God upon our ſpirits: Surely, There is not a more glorious ſight on this ſide Heaven, then to ſee a God doing great things for a people, and a people doing great things for their God.
The Lord be ſuch a God to us, and make us ſuch a people to him, and we are happy for ever. Amen.
FINIS.
End of the text · Thomas Case, Sermon at Westminster 22 August 1645 (1645)