No Power But of God, Part 7
There be glorious Deliverances for the Saints; (as hath been ſaid) but the Saints are too ſudden in expecting theſe deliverances.
WHen our firſt Parents were fallen, there was a promiſe made to them of a recovery by the ſecond Adam, in theſe words: The ſeed of the woman ſhall bruiſe the ſerpents head. And as ſoon as Eve had conceived and brought forth a ſon, Gen. 4. 1. ſaith ſhe, I have got a man from the Lord; (for ſo ſome of our Tranſlations render it) And ſeeing this was not he, when ſhe brought forth her ſecond ſonne, ſhe calls him Abel, which ſignifies vanity. Seeing ſhe was deceived in the firſt, ſhe calls the ſecond vanity. Now our mother was juſt as we are, too ſudden in our expectation of deliverances.
So if we look into that of Moſes, Exo. 5. ult. Neither haſt thou delivered thy people at all, ſaith precious Moſes. Why Moſes, thou art a little too quick: Have not theſe people prayed, and hath not the Lord heard the cry, and ſent thee to bring them out of Egypt, and am not I now upon delivering them? and yet are they not delivered at all? …oſes, thou art a little too ſudden in ex…ecting deliverances.
So it was with the Apoſtles, Act. 1. 6. …ord (ſaid they) wilt thou at this time reſtore …e kingdome to Iſrael? The Apoſtles were too …dden; this was not to be done till many …undred years afterwards. Methinks I ſee …he people of England, yea many of the Lords …wn Lambs, ſome of them in Egypt under …haraohs hard task-maſters, murmuring and …omplaining at other Saints, as they did at Moſes and Aaron. And I ſee ſome others …rought to the Red-ſea, but in great fears, before and behind, as they were; and ſome …re got over the ſea, and ſeen all their ene…ies drowned as they were purſuing them, …nd ſo begin to ſing; and many be marched …nto the midſt of the wilderneſſe, where they ſee great miracles, waters flow out of …he Rocks, and raining Manna from heaven; and yet notwithſtanding the people begin to murmure, and deſire to go back again to Egypt. Oh here is the ſtate of the Engliſh Nation! they ſay, it is better to go back again to Egypt to King Pharaoh; or if he be dead, to his young Sonne, that he may reign over us, where we may enjoy our old Diſcipline, and eat our wonted food, the onions, and the garlicks, and the leeks. But ſome are of a more choiſe ſpiri… and have ſent unto Canaan to ſpie out th… land: Well, there were twelve men ſe… ten of them bring up a falſe report of th… land; onelyonly two of them were of anothe… ſpirit, and ſpeak the truth: the greate… part ſay it is a barren land, the leſſer pa… ſay it is a fruitful land. The people wer… divided, and ſome fall to murmuring, an… ſo are deſtroyed in the wilderneſſe. Well a few are gotten to Canaan; the enemy flie… before them, they poſſeſſe their habitations; and having all things at the full they ſoon forget their God. Is not this all along our ſtate at this day? Some are travelling from Egypt to Canaan; and ſome are journeying from Canaan to Babylon; and ſome are walking from Babylon to Sion.
Q. Methinks I hear many ſaying, If there be ſuch glorious times at hand, and that God doth intend good to us, why is it thus and thus with us?
A. It is true, there be many external and internal burdens lying upon us, that we would be glad to have removed: But conſider a little firſt, the fountain from whence theſe come, Gods love; ſecondly, the end of them, for thy good; this will cauſe the …ule to rejoyce in tribulation; for to you is given not onelyonly to believe, but to ſuffer …r his ſake: muſt Job the juſteſt man that … alive be fought againſt with the terrours …f the Lord, Job. 6. 4. Muſt David a man after …ds own heart have no reſt in his bones, …ecauſe of his ſins, and be ſo waſted with …e grief of his heart, that his moiſture is …rned to the drought of Summer, Pſal. 32. …rſ. 3, 4.
Muſt Heze…iah who walked before the …ord in truth and with a perfect heart, …ave the anger of the Almighty break his …ones like a Lion, Iſai. 38. 13.
Nay muſt the Sonne of God himſelf lie …leeding upon the croſſe, and cry out in …he bitterneſſe of his ſoule, My God, my God, …hy haſt thou for ſaken me! and ſhall we think …o be altogether free from chaſtiſement? was …ot Abel murthered by his brother; Noah …ocked by his ſon; Job ſcoffed by his wife; …lie ſlain by his ſons? See the hardſhips that …acob a man choſen of God went through; …e is threatened by his brother, baniſhed …om his Father, abuſed by his Uncle, …efrauded of his Wife, in the day he is …corched with heat, in the night troubled …ith froſt, as you may ſee at large, Gen. 31. …erſ. 40.
Then ſee the diviſions between his tw… Wives, two Siſters baulling for one Husban… after this they both went from their Fathe… and now ſee a freſh purſuit behinde hi… Laban follows Jacob with a Hue and Cry before him Eſau is marching up to him wi… four hundred men: ſo to go forward were intollerable, to go backward un… vailable: Well, after the Almighty had d… livered him, and he marched into his ow… Country; his Wife Rachel dieth, his daughter Dinah is raviſhed, his Son Reuben lie with his Concubines; then his moſt beloved Son Joſeph they report is dead; the… ſoon after this aroſe a Famine, and another of his Sons in priſon, and nothing can redeem him but his onelyonly Benjamine here is the loſſe of ſon after ſon, Gen. 42. 36 And Jacob ſaid unto them, Me have ye bereave… of my children, Joſeph is not, and Simeon … not, and you will take Benjamin away; … theſe things be againſt me. But there was … time then drawing neer, that Jacob ſhould b… delivered from his troubles, and enjoy the company of all his Sons again: The way to true happineſſe is through many difficulties; you muſt ſuffer a while, before you ſhall be eſtabliſhed, ſtrengthened and ſetled. God is unſtripping thee of thy riches and righteouſneſſe, as he did Job, that he may give thee twice as much, and ten times better in its room; the Viſion is yet for an appointed time, Hab. 2. 3. and at the end it will come wait for it; nay, it will ſurely come, it will not tarry: It may be thou and I have heard, That the mountain of the Lords houſe ſhalbe eſtabliſhed upon the top of the mountains; well it ſhall come to paſſe: but the Viſion is for an appointed time. Hath the Lord promiſed that knowledge ſhall cover the Earth, as the waters the Sea; and that we ſhall all know him from the leaſt to the greateſt: Wel, God is faithful, it ſhall come to paſſe; but the Viſion is for an appointed time. Doeſt thou not read in Dan. 2. that there was a ſtone cut out without hands, and became a great mountain, and filled the whole Earth? well, the Viſion is for an appointed time, wait for it, for it will ſurely come, it will not tarry.
Hath the Lord indeed promiſed to take away thy filthy garments, as once he did from Joſhua, Joſh. 3. 3, 4. the Viſion is for an appointed time, it will ſpeak and not tarry. Hath he promiſed indeed that ſorrow and ſighing ſhall fly away, and that all tears ſhall be wiped from thine eyes, and thou ſhall have no more pain and ſorrow; why, h…s duplicate page duplicate page faithful that hath promiſed; onelyonly the Viſion is for an appointed time, it will ſpeedily ſpeak, it will not tarry.
Do the Scriptures ſpeak of the calling of the Jews, and of the bringing in of the fulneſſe of the Gentiles, and of the reſtauration of all things? the Viſion is for an appointed time, it will ſpeak and not tarry.
Hath the Lord indeed promiſed that the light of the Moon ſhall be as the light of the Sun, and the light of the Sun ſhal be ſevenfold? the Viſion is for an appointed time, it will ſpeak, it will not tarry.
Hath he ſaid by his ſervant Iſaiah, c. 25. 7. And he will deſtroy the face of the covering caſt over all people, and rend the vaile that is ſpread over all nations. He is faithfull, ſo that one tittle ſhall not paſſe till all be fulfilled, onelyonly it ſhall be done in its appointed time. How ſhall hope and patience be exerciſed, if he ſhould not make us wait? and how ſhall we ſay as in Iſai. 24. 9. This is our God, we have waited for him, and he will ſave us; this is the Lord, we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his ſalvation: ſay not with Moſes; Neither haſt thou delivered us at all; Exod. 5. laſt verſ. but ſay with Paul, 2 Cor. 1. 10. Who hath delivered us, who doth deliver us; in whom we truſt he will yet ſtill deliver us. …e thankfull then for what is already done, and believe and wait for what is …ow a doing. I ſee the Saints, ſaying with Abraham, Gen. 15. 2. Lord, what wilt thou give …e? &c. But methinks you ſhould rather be ſaying with David, Pſal. 116. 12. What ſhall I give thee for all thy beneſits to me? Again, we read in the book of the Revelation, of ſeven Seals, and ſeven Vials, and ſeven Trumpets: If we compare theſe Seales, Vials, and Trumpets together, I ſuppoſe we ſhall finde them hold forth one and the ſame thing; And then if we conſider what Seale is now opening, what Trumpet is now ſounding, what Vial is now pouring forth, thou wilt ſee what ſtate the Church of Chriſt s now under, and what the Almighty …s now doing for her deliverance. Is not …he ſeventh Seal now opening? is not the …eventh Vial now pouring forth? Is not …he ſeventh Trumpet now ſounding, and …ome of the Saints begining to lift up their voices? Rev. 11. 15. And the ſeventh Angel ſounded, and there were great voices in heaven ſaying, The kingdomes of this world are become the kingdomes of our Lord and of his Chriſt, and …e ſhall reign for evermore. Rejoice O Sion, …hy day is dawning: Howle O Babylon, thy plagues are comming: he is gathering his wheat into the barn, but he will burn the chaffe with an unquenchable fire. It i… true, the Saints may be ſhaken once more, as in Heb. 12. 26, 27. that thoſe things that may be ſhaken, may be taken away; and thoſe, and only thoſe that cannot be ſhaken may remain. But Babylon ſhall be ſhaken down to the earth and ground to powder and caſt into the bottomleſſe pit, there to continue for ever. Oh then lift up your hearts wth your hands unto our God in the heavens! Oh lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees! Take the two wings, the one of Faith, the other of Love, and flie into the aire of Comfort, where thy treaſure is; ſaying, Come Lord Jeſus, come quickly; take poſſeſſion of that which is thine own!
I had many things more in my heart and mind to preſent unto thy conſideration, whoſoever thou art, that readeſt theſe words. I will here but name them unto thee, but in another Treatiſe ſhortly preſent them before thee: which being done, I ſhall apply thoſe words of Solomon, Eccleſ. 12. 12, 13.
1. Beware of extremes. Men be very apt in this age, either to cry up all Clergy-men, or cry down all Clergy-men: whereas we ſhould endeavour the plucking up and rooting out all falſe pretended Miniſters, for they be the worſt of men: the Scripture calls them Dogs and Wolves, and Cheaters and Deceivers, &c. But we ſhould double our love to all that be faithful, for they are the mouth of the Lord to us, and their feet are beautiful. The Scriptures command us to eſteem them highly for their works ſake: And whereas they ſow unto us ſpiritual things, let not us keep back from them carnal things, 1 Cor. 9. 11. & Rom. 15. 27, &c. Let us do this, leſt they ſay of us as Paul did of his hearers, 2 Cor. 11. 8. I have robbed other Churches, taking wages of them, to do you ſervice.
I once heard, that there was a godly man that had three friends; And to try their wiſdome, he ſent to each of them an Apple, he knowing by a ſmall inſtrument that each Apple was rotten at the core. The firſt receives his apple, and cut it in the midſt, and found it rotten at the core, and ſo threw it away. The ſecond receives his apple, and found it rotten in the midſt; but becauſe it came from his friend, he eat it all. The third received his apple, and cut it as the former, and found it rotten; ſo he cut off the rotten, and threw it away, but eat only the good. Now let us not be like to him that threw away all, becauſe there was ſome unſound: Neither let us be like the ſecond, that received good and bad together: But let us be like the laſt, that received the good, and rejected the bad. And that thou maieſt put a difference between the good and the bad, thou ſhalt ſee them ſet forth in their colours that they may be known, in what I have written before in my Epiſtle to the World.
2. Beware of murmuring. Thou haſt been delivered from Egypt, and brought through the Red-ſea, and art now in the wilderneſſe in thy journy towards Canaan: If thou murmure at the preſent diſpenſation, or diſtruſt Gods power, or ſpeak unadviſedly with thy lips againſt our Moſes and Joſhua, Parliament and Army; thou art like to die in the wilderneſſe, and not to have any part in the deliverance that is at hand. See 1 Cor. 10. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.
3. My earneſt deſire and requeſt is, that you would make Religion your buſin…ſſe, and the world a thing by the bie: for now Religion with moſt men is but a ſtalkinghorſe; men look after that, when they have nothing elſe to do; the World, not Religion is our buſineſſe: contrary to the mand of our Lord Jeſus Chriſt, Seek ye firſt the kingdome of heaven, and the righteouſneſſe thereof, Mat. 6. 33.
4. Spend not ſo much time and pains aboutt he outſide of Religion, as Diſcipline and Order; but ſpend thrice as much about the inſide, the principles and grounds of truth. Me thinks I ſee moſt men ſpend much time in the outſide of Religion, viz. whether Presbyterie, Anabaptiſme or Independencie be the way, &c. And ſo whiles they be diſputing about the garment, the power of Religion is much abated. The Kings daughter is all glorious within. Look to the pow…r in the firſt place, and then the form will follow after in its order.
5. The more ſpiritual any truth is, let thy ſoul take the more delight in it; reject it not, as moſt do, if it be not clothed with ſome humane excellencie. Remember, the Stone which the wiſe builders rejected, is become the head of the corner. This is the Lords doing, and it is marvellous in the eyes of men.
6. Stand faſt in the liberty wherewith Chriſt hath made us free, and be not aſhamed to own Chriſt and his cauſe in publike in the view of all men. If the things …e hold be ſound and true, bring them forth, Truth ſeeks no corners; light was never aſhamed of darkneſſe; the nature of tru… light is to deſtroy darknes. The Biſhops hav… no Courts, the Apparitors no Commiſſions their day is ended: wherefore come forth ye Doves, that have lain a long time in the clefts of the rocks, in the ſecret places of the ſtairs: let us ſee thy countenance, let us hear… thy voice; for ſweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely, Cant. 2. 14. Wherefore come forth, and ſo much the rather, becauſe there are ſome that ſeek occaſion to ſpeak evil of you: Take off that occaſion, leſt they ſay of you as 2 Tim. 3. 6.
7. If ever thou intendeſt to do any thing for God in honouring him in the world, do it preſently, whiles it is called to day; for thy time here in this world is almoſt ſpent; it was but ſhort, at the longeſt; the thred of thy life is almoſt ſpun out; thy dayes flie a way very ſwiftly, yea ſwifter then the Weavers ſhuttle, Job 7. 6. and ſo thou and I ſhall ſpeedily cut off our life like a Weaver, Iſa. 38. 12.
R. P.
FINIS.
Reader,
Let me intreat thee to correct thoſe greater faults that appear at firſt view; for I have not time to peruſe it all: And paſs by in love many leſſer, cauſed through my abſence, and the Correctors overſight.
End of the text · Robert Purnell, No Power But of God (1651)