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<DATE>2013-09-25</DATE>
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<NAME>Olivia Bottum</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
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<VID>180163</VID>
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<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>Sea&s;onable THOUGHTS Of Divine PROVIDENCE: Affording Comfort to tho&s;e who are in Danger.</P>
<P>In&s;truction to all that are delivered from the late &s;ad VISITATION.</P>
<P>Wherein we are inform'd Whether our Pre&s;ervation be a fruit of God's Special Love, or of his Common Providence.</P>
<P><HI>London,</HI> Printed for <HI>Tho. Parkhur&s;t,</HI> at the three Crowns, at the lower end of <HI>Cheap</HI>-&s;ide over again&s;t the <HI>Conduit,</HI> 1666.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="dedication">
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<HEAD>For the Honourable, my very good FRIENDS, Sir <HI>ROBERT HANSON</HI> Sheriff, and <HI>ALEXANDER HOLT,</HI> E&s;quire, Alderman of the City of <HI>LONDON.</HI></HEAD>
<P>THE common danger of the approaching and &s;preading Pe&s;tilence, (which was &s;ufficient to awaken every heart) made &s;ome impre&s;sions upon me, but e&s;pecially the number of youth in my Family, did &s;tir up a quicker &s;ence both of danger and duty, to di&s;charge the tru&s;t repo&s;ed in me, in caring for their pre&s;ervation, as mine own.</P>
<PB REF="4">
<P>Among&s;t all the Remedies I could think of, I found none &s;o efficacious to quiet my heart from the fear of evil, as Meditati|on, and reliance upon Divine Providence: And the experience that I have had heretofore, That awakening Judgements do make way for Coun&s;el, hath induced me to make the&s;e Thoughts pub|lick, hoping that what hath been u&s;eful to me, may be profitable to others.</P>
<P>In this endeavour, I could not pa&s;s you by without &s;pecial ob|&s;ervation and re&s;pect. A great part of the mercy vouch&s;afed to my Family, being yours, having four Sons pre&s;erved in it: Be|&s;ides your Intere&s;t in the famous City of <HI>LONDON,</HI> for
<PB REF="4"> whom this is chiefly publi&s;ht, of which you have the Honour, not onely to be Members, but Ma|gi&s;trates; where, by your re&s;i|dence in this time of its <HI>Vi&s;ita|tion,</HI> you have had advantages above many, to furni&s;h your &s;elves with in&s;tances of Gods Provi|dence towards the City, your own and other Families, which have been wonderfully pre&s;erv|ed in the Valley of the &s;hadow of Death. To which I may add your intere&s;t in me, by which you may entitle your &s;elves to what ever I may be &s;erviceable to your &s;elves or Families in.</P>
<P>Now that in the peru&s;al of this, you may find, that your lives, and the lives of your Relations, were given to you in mercy, and that
<PB REF="5"> the City, in the mid&s;t of which you have been pre&s;erved, may ex|perience, That you have been kept alive to be ble&s;&s;ings to it, &s;hall be the Prayer of</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>Your affectionate Servant in the LORD, <HI>Jo. Chi&s;hull.</HI></SIGNED>
<DATELINE><HI>Enfeild.</HI> <DATE><HI>Jan. 25, 1665.</HI></DATE></DATELINE></CLOSER>
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<DIV1 TYPE="text">
<PB N="1" REF="5">
<HEAD>Sea&s;onable Thoughts OF Divine Providence.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL><HI>DEUT. 33.29.</HI></BIBL>
<P>Happy art thou, O I&s;rael; Who is like unto thee, O people, &s;a|ved by the Lord.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P><HI>MO&s;es</HI> the Servant of the Lord, having fini&s;hed his cour&s;e, and condu|cted <HI>I&s;rael</HI> out of <HI>E|gypt,</HI> and led them through the red Sea, and the Wil|derne&s;s, being not permitted to go into <HI>Canaan,</HI> (though he &s;eriou&s;ly begged it of God) receives the &s;en|tence
<PB N="2" REF="6"> of Death, with particular com|mand to go up into Mount <HI>Nebo,</HI> and dye: Though he &s;trugled a little in this, and would fain have gotten a Di&s;pen&s;ation to go over into <HI>Canaan;</HI> yet perceiving that God had other|wi&s;e determined concerning him, he lets fall his &s;uit, and he chearfully &s;ets him&s;elf to obey the Command of God, when he had fir&s;t taken care for his Succe&s;&s;or, and prayed for, and ble&s;t his people. In this Chapter we have <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> his farwel; he takes leave of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> as Chri&s;t did of his Di&s;ciples; his la&s;t words are as full of Love and Con&s;olation as po&s;&s;ibly they could be. He deals out a ble&s;|&s;ing to every Tribe in particular, and then ble&s;&s;es them in the whole lump, and not only them, but all the people of God. And being lifted up in his &s;pirit, he hath a far better pro&s;pect than he had of <HI>Canaan</HI> upon Mount <HI>Nebo:</HI> he takes a view of what God had done, and of what he had promi|&s;ed
<PB N="3" REF="6"> to do for them; and he breaks out in con&s;ideration of this, into a &s;erious admiration at their happy e|&s;tate, in the&s;e words, <HI>Happy art thou, O I&s;rael; Who is like unto thee, Oh people &s;aved by the Lord?</HI> In which we have,</P>
<P><HI>Fir&s;t, Mo&s;es</HI> his judgement con|cerning <HI>I&s;rael</HI>'s &s;tate, <HI>Happy art thou O I&s;rael.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Secondly,</HI> The confirmation of this, in which he notes the eminen|cy and &s;ingularity of their happi|ne&s;s, <HI>Who is like to thee?</HI> (i. e.) there is none like to thee: Thy Priviledg and Ble&s;&s;ing is remarkable, becau&s;e thou enjoye&s;t it alone; none can boa&s;t of it but thy &s;elf.</P>
<P><HI>Thirdly,</HI> He explains this his a&s;|&s;ertion, and &s;hews wherein the hap|pine&s;s of God's <HI>I&s;rael</HI> lies, in the&s;e words, <HI>Saved of the Lord.</HI></P>
<P>The Rea&s;on why <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> pronoun|ces them happy, is, Becau&s;e God hath &s;uch a &s;pecial care of them, to<PB N="4" REF="7"> keep them and &s;ave them in all times of trouble and danger.</P>
<P>The words might be broken into many Propo&s;itions, but they may be be&s;t taken in this one Propo&s;ition.</P>
<P>Doct. <HI>Gods peculiar Care and Providence toward his people, is their peculiar happine&s;s.</HI> Or, <HI>It is the hap|pine&s;s of the people of God alone, that they are under the &s;pecial Care and Providence of God; he hath a p cu|liar regard to them, they are the &s;a|ved of the Lord, for who&s;e &s;afety he provides above all others; and in compari&s;on of whom, he cares for none in the world be&s;ides.</HI></P>
<P>To make this Propo&s;ition clear, I am to prove,</P>
<P><HI>Fir&s;t,</HI> That God hath a people of whom he hath a &s;pecial Care.</P>
<P><HI>Secondly,</HI> The people who are the &s;ubjects of this peculiar Care and Providence, are happy above all o|thers.</P>
<PB N="5" REF="7">
<P>But I know if I prove the former, the latter will be granted; all men agreeing in this, That Pre&s;ervation and Safety, in time of private or publick danger, is a great happine&s;s; and I think all men that have not gi|ven up them&s;elves to gro&s;s <HI>Athei&s;m,</HI> will agree, That the be&s;t Security that a man can have again&s;t all kind of Evils, is an Intere&s;t in Divine Providence.</P>
<P>I &s;hall therefore endeavour to &s;hew you, That God hath a peculiar Care of his People in all conditions, to &s;ave them from the many evils that they are compa&s;&s;ed about withall; this being the only thing that needs any proof. In pro&s;ecution of this, I &s;hall &s;hew you,</P>
<P><HI>Fir&s;t,</HI> Some in&s;tances of this Care and Providence, both in refer|ence to the Church in general, and to particular per&s;ons.</P>
<P><HI>Secondly,</HI> How this is expre&s;t; what terms the Holy Gho&s;t u&s;es to
<PB N="6" REF="8"> communicate the notions of it to us, that our conceptions of it may be regulated.</P>
<P><HI>Thirdly,</HI> Wherein this Care for the &s;afety of God's people, is ex|pre&s;t; how it appears in its particu|lars, and is proved by actions as well as words.</P>
<P><HI>Fourthly,</HI> Some Rea&s;ons for this, That though this be far above what we can rationally expect, con&s;ider|ing our unworthine&s;s; yet there is no|thing built more rea&s;onably upon Scripture Suppo&s;itions.</P>
<P><HI>Fifthly,</HI> The improvement that may be made of this Truth.</P>
<P><HI>Fir&s;t,</HI> Then, for the in&s;tances which may be given of this Truth: We may &s;ee it in the Care that he takes of his whole Church, when it was confined to the people of <HI>I&s;|rael.</HI></P>
<P>What Care did God take of them in <HI>Egypt,</HI> when they were near to ruine? <HI>Pharoah</HI> and his people had
<PB N="7" REF="8"> con&s;ulted and determined their de|&s;truction. But what &s;ayes God? <HI>Exo.</HI> 3.7. <HI>I have &s;een their affliction, and heard their cry, and know their &s;or|row.</HI> It is a great evidence of his Care, that he ob&s;erved and weighed their &s;ufferings.</P>
<P><HI>Secondly,</HI> When he begins to work for their deliverance, and &s;tret|ches out his hand to bring his &s;ore Judgments upon their Oppre&s;&s;ors, he does not &s;end his Judgments upon the whole Land promi&s;cuou&s;ly, but he &s;eparates betwixt the <HI>Egyptians</HI> and the <HI>I&s;raelites.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Thirdly,</HI> When <HI>Pharoah</HI> begins &s;o far to yeild, as to admit of a Trea|ty, never did any &s;tand &s;tricter upon terms, than he; he would abate no|thing of his demand; never was the Intere&s;t of any people better de|fended, or more carefully provided for, than theirs: he would not leave a hoof behind, <HI>Exod.</HI> 10.26. he would make no compo&s;ition with
<PB N="8" REF="9"> <HI>Pharoah,</HI> all <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> and all that was <HI>I&s;raels,</HI> mu&s;t be delivered.</P>
<P><HI>Fourthly,</HI> When he had brought them thence, and they were come out, according to his demands, what care did he take of their pre&s;ervati|on at the Red Sea, when they were compa&s;&s;ed in on every &s;ide, the Sea before, the Mountains on both &s;ides, and the <HI>Egyptians</HI> behind them; yet he led them through the Sea, as on dry Land; and as he left none be|hind in <HI>Egypt,</HI> &s;o he lo&s;t none here.</P>
<P><HI>Fifthly,</HI> When they were in the Wilderne&s;s, what care does he take to lead them in their way, by a Cloud and Pillar of Fire; and to provide for them in that de&s;olate place, &s;o that they had not only bread and water, food and raiment; but, as the <HI>P&s;almi&s;t</HI> &s;ayes, They had Angels food.</P>
<P><HI>Sixthly,</HI> View them in the Land of <HI>Canaan,</HI> and you &s;hall find won|ders of Providence, in their pre&s;er|vation
<PB N="9" REF="9"> from dangers, and deliver|ance out of them, when they had brought them&s;elves in trouble by their provocations</P>
<P><HI>Seventhly,</HI> God had a&s;&s;ured them of his Providential Care of them, while they walked in his Com|mands; nay, he had given them one &s;pecial Command, which they could not ob&s;erve without a very great de|pendance upon his Providence. He had commanded all the Miles from all parts to appear before him thrice every year. Now this mu&s;t needs be dangerous, and again&s;t all the Rules of policy, if they had not had a &s;e|curity in Divine Providence: It might &s;eem a very incon&s;iderate thing to go up, and leave all their Countrey naked, their Wives and Children to defend them&s;elves in the mid&s;t of Enemies, who mu&s;t needs know the times of their going up to <HI>Jeru&s;alem:</HI> But God undertook to guard their Countrey in the mean
<PB N="10" REF="10" MS="y"> time, and he kept the enemy not only from invading, but al&s;o from de|&s;iring it, <HI>Exod.</HI> 34.24.</P>
<P><HI>Eighthly,</HI> La&s;tly, View them in their Captivity, when they had pro|voked the Lord to give them up into the hands of their Enemies; yet the Lord hath a &s;pecial care of them, to pre&s;erve them under the evils which he brought upon them for their &s;ins; we may &s;ee this evidently, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 42.24, 25. and <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 43.1, 2. <HI>Who gave Jacob to the &s;poil, and I&s;rael to the Robbers? Did not the Lord, he a|gain&s;t whom they have &s;inned? for they would not walk in his ways, nei|ther were they obedient to his Law; therefore he hath poured upon him the fury of his anger, and the &s;trength of battel, and it hath &s;et him on fire round about, yet he knew not; and it burned him, yet he laid it not to heart. But now, thus &s;aith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O I&s;rael; fear not, for I
<PB N="11" REF="10"> have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy Name, thou art mine, When thou pa&s;&s;e&s;t through the waters, I will be with thee, and through the Rivers, they &s;hall not overflow thee: when thou walke&s;t through the fire, thou &s;halt not be burnt, neither &s;hall the flame kindle upon thee.</HI></P>
<P>If ever God would leave his peo|ple in time of trouble, it would be in &s;uch a ca&s;e as this when they were under the trouble which he had brought upon them, and that for their &s;in; yea, when they behaved them|&s;elves very ill under the hand of God which was upon them: <HI>I&s;rael</HI> had &s;o provoked the Lord, that he could not &s;pare them; yet in their afflictions he could not for&s;ake them. He would go with them thorow fire and water. VVe have very remark|able pa&s;&s;ages of Gods Providence to that people in their Captivity, to pre&s;erve them from being cut off; we may read it at large in the Book
<PB N="12" REF="11" MS="y"> of <HI>He&s;ter;</HI> when mi&s;chief was in|tended again&s;t them, and they were de&s;igned for ruine, then mu&s;t <HI>He&s;ter</HI> by a &s;trange Providence be brought to the Crown, and <HI>Mordecai</HI> as &s;trangely and as &s;ea&s;onably prefer'd to Honour. For though be had done the King Service before by di&s;cover|ing the Plot, which was laid again&s;t him; yet the King takes no notice of this till &s;uch time as the <HI>Jews</HI> were in extream danger to be cut off; and <HI>Haman</HI> mu&s;t be u&s;ed to help to rai&s;e <HI>Mordecai</HI> to Honour, who had de&s;igned not only his, but the ruine of all the <HI>Jews.</HI></P>
<P>Thus you &s;ee the Providence of God cures the Church in general. Will you &s;ee it towards particular per&s;ons? Con&s;ider it then in the&s;e few, for in&s;tances, of many that might be given, without number.</P>
<P>VVhat provi&s;ion did God make for <HI>Noah,</HI> and the &s;afety of him and his Family, becau&s;e he was righteous
<PB N="13" REF="11"> in that generation, <HI>Gen.</HI> 6.14. There|fore God directs him to make an Ark that he might e&s;cape that common de&s;truction. After he had made the Ark by Gods direction, God takes care to call him into the &s;ame when the time was come, that the encrea&s;e of the waters might not prevent him, <HI>Gen.</HI> 7.1. VVhen he had call'd him in, he is careful to &s;hut him in, to &s;ecure him from the waters, <HI>Gen.</HI> 7.16. God would hereby expre&s;s the great care that he had of <HI>Noah,</HI> that he would not tru&s;t to his care in making every place fa&s;t where the water might come in to annoy him; he might for want of skill, being not acquainted with &s;uch a Ve&s;&s;el for|merly, or for want of &s;ufficient care, not knowing what danger he &s;hould be in, nor yet under&s;tanding the force of the waters, have left open &s;ome cranny, at lea&s;t, whereat the water might have broken in upon him. God therefore would &s;hut eve|ry
<PB N="14" REF="12"> door him&s;elf, and by a &s;ecret power he did al&s;o fortifie the &s;everal parts of the Ark again&s;t the force of the waters.</P>
<P>VVhen God was about to de&s;troy <HI>Sodom</HI> and <HI>Gomorrah</HI> by fire, See what care he takes of <HI>Lot,</HI> becau&s;e he had a righteous Soul that was vex|ed with the filthy conver&s;ation of the <HI>Sodomites, Gen.</HI> 19. where we &s;ee, fir&s;t, God &s;ends his Angels to call him out, and to bring out all that he had in it, <HI>v.</HI> 12. VVhen the danger is eminent, and the time draws nigh to de&s;troy the City, they ha&s;ten him, <HI>v.</HI> 15. when language will not do it, they pluck him out of his own hou&s;e, and out of the City, and the de&s;tru|ction of it, <HI>v.</HI> 16. nay, that he may not peri&s;h out of the City, they grant him a City to flye unto. God &s;hut <HI>Noah</HI> into the Ark to keep dan|ger from him, and he pulls <HI>Lot</HI> out, to keep him from the danger.</P>
<PB N="15" REF="12">
<P>Read but the &s;tories of <HI>Abraham, Jacob, Elijah</HI> and <HI>David,</HI> in their Pilgrimage, and you cannot but acknowledg a &s;pecial providence of God attending them in all conditi|ons. VVhen <HI>Abraham</HI> was in dan|ger, and the weakne&s;s of his faith ap|peared in it, how does God take care to bring him off with &s;afety and ho|nour! He afflicts <HI>Abimelech</HI>'s Fami|ly, and then acquaints him with the rea&s;on of it, <HI>Gen.</HI> 20.3.</P>
<P>See his care of <HI>Jacob</HI> when he fled from his Brother <HI>E&s;au;</HI> he pro|vides for him, fir&s;t, in his Uncles hou&s;e; and when the time is come, the &s;ame Providence which brought him thither, and kept him there, mu&s;t make way for his Return, to bring him off &s;afely; for his place of en|tertainment, was become his Pri&s;on; his Wealth too great a Booty to let go; but God meets <HI>Laban, Gen.</HI> 31.24. before he overtakes <HI>Jacob,</HI> and prevents him from doing the injury he intended.</P>
<PB N="16" REF="13">
<P>After he had e&s;caped the hands of <HI>Laban,</HI> he mu&s;t fall into the hands of <HI>E&s;au,</HI> who had long &s;ince threatned his death, and hath now the oppor|tunity that he had looked for to cut him off; yet God turns his heart, and makes him kind to <HI>Jacob;</HI> &s;o that he might well &s;ay, <HI>Gen.</HI> 33.4. I have &s;een thy face, as if I had &s;een the face of God; for he might &s;ee Gods face in his. It was God that made <HI>E&s;au</HI> kind to <HI>Jacob;</HI> it was a recon|ciled God, that made a reconciled Brother.</P>
<P>Con&s;ider but the care that God takes of <HI>Elijah,</HI> when he w s di&s;tre&s;|&s;ed by Famine on the one hand, and the per&s;ecution of <HI>Jezabel</HI> on the other. He feeds him by an Angel, by the Ravens, and by the Widow of <HI>Sareptah.</HI> We mu&s;t needs confe&s;s him to be a great in&s;tance of Gods Providence.</P>
<P>The like we have in <HI>David,</HI> whom <HI>Saul</HI> had appointed to death, how
<PB N="17" REF="13"> did he per&s;ecute him, and hunt him like a Partridge on the Mountains; yet God rai&s;es up &s;ome to &s;ave him: One while his Wife deceives her Father, when he would have &s;lain him in his bed. Another while <HI>Jo|nothan</HI> is of his Council, and gives him intelligence when danger is near him, and he was fain to flye to &s;ave him&s;elf, and is clo&s;ely pur&s;ued in the Wilderne&s;s, and in great danger to be taken; he is pre&s;erved by an In|va&s;ion made upon the Land by the <HI>Phili&s;tines,</HI> 1 <HI>Sam.</HI> 23.26, 27. And <HI>David</HI> made ha&s;t to get away for fea of <HI>Saul,</HI> for <HI>Saul</HI> and his men compa&s;&s;ed <HI>Daved</HI> and his men round about to take them. But there came a Me&s;&s;enger unto <HI>Saul,</HI> &s;aying, <HI>Ha&s;t thee, and come, forth Phili&s;tines have invaded the Land.</HI> Wherefore <HI>Saul</HI> returned from pur&s;uing after <HI>David. Saul</HI> never came out with greater re&s;olution, with better prepa|ration, than now: He was re&s;olved
<PB N="18" REF="14"> to make a &s;earch for him through the whole Land, and to find him where ever he &s;hould conceal him&s;elf, <HI>ver.</HI> 23. <HI>If he be in the Land,</HI> &s;ayes he, <HI>I will &s;earch him out, thorough out all the thou&s;ands of Iudah.</HI> For pre|paration, he had corre&s;pondence with the <HI>Ziphites,</HI> who knew tho&s;e parts where <HI>David</HI> was, and had in|&s;truction to &s;earch out every lurking place of his; and for &s;trength, he had men enough to inclo&s;e <HI>David</HI> and all his men in the Wilderne&s;&s;e. <HI>Saul</HI> in all this confidence, is not|with&s;tanding di&s;appointed; God had otherwi&s;e provided to &s;ecure <HI>David,</HI> and divert <HI>Saul</HI> by a way that neither thought of. The&s;e may &s;erve for in&s;tances of this Truth: A farther proof of it may be,</P>
<P><HI>Secondly,</HI> By con&s;idering the ex|pre&s;&s;ions by which this Providence of God is &s;et forth in Scripture; and they are &s;uch as note a very tender and &s;pecial care of them, and
<PB N="19" REF="14"> they are chiefly the&s;e three.</P>
<P N="1">1. Keeping or covering them under his wings.</P>
<P><HI>Deut.</HI> 32.11, 12. As an Eagle &s;tirreth up her ne&s;t, fluttereth over her young, &s;preadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings; &s;o the Lord alone did lead them.</P>
<P>The Providence of God which is &s;ometimes compared to the Hens gathering of her Chickens under her wings, is here &s;et forth by the Eagles care of her young ones, which is the noble&s;t, the wi&s;e&s;t, and &s;tronge&s;t of Birds, and for tenderne&s;s to hers, falls &s;hort of none. She doth not onely keep them in the Ne&s;t, but &s;he car|ries them al&s;o with her from the Ne&s;t, and that, not with her Talons, as &s;he does her prey, le&s;t &s;he &s;hould hurt them; but, on her wings. <HI>David</HI> praying for help in time of his trou|ble, u&s;es this expre&s;&s;ion, P&s;al. 17.8, 9. <HI>Hide me under the &s;hadow of thy
<PB N="20" REF="15"> wings, from the wicked that oppre&s;s me, from my deadly enemies, who com|pa&s;s me about. David</HI> knew well e|nough, That under this &s;hadow he &s;hould be &s;ecret and &s;afe from his e|nemies, how many or how &s;trong &s;o|ever: And the &s;ecurity of &s;uch a per&s;on he does el&s;ewhere &s;trongly a&s;&s;ert, e&s;pecially again&s;t that Evil which no other &s;trength or skill can protect us from, I mean the de&s;troy|ing Pe&s;tilence, &s;ee <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 91. in ver. 1, 4. he alludes to this expre&s;&s;ion, and in the following ver&s;es he &s;hews the fruit of this, in a freedom both from the fear of the Judgment, and of the Judgment it &s;elf. V. 1. <HI>He that dwelleth in the &s;ecret place of the Mo&s;t High, &s;hall abide under the &s;ha|dow of the Almighty.</HI> V. 4. <HI>He &s;hall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings &s;halt thou tru&s;t.</HI> But what advantage &s;hall this be to him? See in the following ver&s;es, <HI>v.</HI> 5, 6. <HI>He &s;hall not be afraid of the terror
<PB N="21" REF="15"> by night, nor for the arrow that flieth by day; nor for the Pe&s;tilence that walketh in darkne&s;s, nor for the De|&s;truction that wa&s;teth at noon-day.</HI></P>
<P>Now though this be not an ab&s;o|lute promi&s;e of freeing every godly per&s;on from this noi&s;om di&s;ea&s;e, yet it is a ground for their hope; the peo|ple of God may take hold of this promi&s;e, and plead it with God for their pre&s;ervation; and if they be found in their duties, acting faith up|on God, there is very much &s;poken in the&s;e words for their &s;ecurity; For God hath given his Angels charge o|ver them, to keep them in all their ways, e&s;pecially if we make the Mo&s;t High our Habitation. If we would have the benefit of Divine Protection, we mu&s;t be &s;ure to put our &s;elves under it, by a particular act of Faith.</P>
<P N="2">2. A &s;econd expre&s;&s;ion by which this Providence is expre&s;t, is his hi|ding his people in time of danger,
<PB N="22" REF="16"> <HI>P&s;al</HI> 27.5. <HI>In the time of trouble he &s;hall hide me in his pavillion; in the &s;ecret of his Tabernacle &s;hall he hide me:</HI> And P&s;al. 31.20. <HI>Thou &s;halt hide me in the &s;ecret of thy pre&s;ence, from the pride of men, thou &s;halt keep them &s;ecretly in a pavillion from the &s;trife of tongues.</HI> This is another way by which we expre&s;s the care we take for tho&s;e we love, when we fear to be overpowered or oppre&s;t, we hide that which we would keep; where we &s;u&s;pect our &s;trength to pro|tect what we de&s;ire to pre&s;erve, we make up that defect by care and skill. Thus <HI>Rahab</HI> hid the Spyes, whom &s;he could not protect from the fury of the King of <HI>Jericho.</HI> And <HI>Obadiah</HI> had no other way to protect the Prophets from <HI>Jezabel</HI>'s fury, and the raging Famine, but to hide them by fifties in Caves. Now the Lord u&s;es this way of expre&s;&s;ing his care for his people, not becau&s;e there is any defect in him of power
<PB N="23" REF="16"> to defend and &s;ecure them again&s;t all the force and oppo&s;ition of men, for he can defend them from all their enemies, as he did <HI>Elijah</HI> on the top of the Mountain, from the Captains of <HI>Ahaziah,</HI> and their fifties. But the Lord u&s;es this to &s;hew us, That his care for his, is no way &s;hort of our care for ours; what cour&s;e we take to pre&s;erve any thing dear to us, that doth God take for the &s;ecurity of his; his Wi&s;dom as well as his Power, is &s;een in &s;aving them in time of danger.</P>
<P N="3">3. A third expre&s;&s;ion of his Care is, Keeping them as the Apple of the Eye. God's Care of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> is expre&s;t thus, <HI>Deut.</HI> 32.10. <HI>He found him in a de&s;art Land, and in the wa&s;t howl|ing wilderne&s;s; he led him about, he in&s;tructed him, he kept him as the ap|ple of his eye.</HI> Now we know that no part of mans body is kept with more care and tenderne&s;s than the eye, not only becau&s;e it is of &s;o much
<PB N="24" REF="17"> u&s;e, and &s;o great an ornament to the body, but al&s;o becau&s;e it is &s;o &s;en&s;i|ble of the lea&s;t touch and is offend|ed with that which other parts feel not; therefore &s;ayes God, Zach. 2.8. <HI>He that toucheth you, toucheth the apple of mine eye.</HI> As the Eye, &s;o God is not only &s;en&s;ible of blows, but of touches; not only great, but &s;mall injuries done to the people of God, do affect him; and as men keep out du&s;t or hairs out of the eye, &s;o does the Lord keep off all Evils from his people; therefore &s;ays he, P&s;al. 105.15. <HI>Touch not mine anoint|ed, and do my Prophets no harm.</HI> Therefore <HI>David</HI> calling upon Di|vine Providence, be&s;peaks it in the&s;e words, P&s;al. 17.8. <HI>Keep me as the ap|ple of the eye.</HI> Lay the&s;e three ex|pre&s;&s;ions together, and tell what can be po&s;&s;ibly added to expre&s;s the ten|der care and watchfulne&s;s of Divine Providence over the people of God; He that believes this to be true, can
<PB N="25" REF="17" MS="y"> &s;ay nothing le&s;s than <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> does here, <HI>Who is like to thee, oh I&s;rael, a people &s;av d by the Lord?</HI> Thus I have &s;hewn you how this Divine care is expre&s;t in Scripture-Language; the next thing is, To &s;hew wherein this is expre&s;t in deed, and matter of fact: Which is</P>
<P><HI>Thirdly,</HI> The Third Particular; Wherein does God expre&s;s his Care of his People? His Actions as well as his Word &s;peak it out plain, if we con&s;ider,</P>
<P N="1">1. He hath a &s;pecial Care of them when he &s;ends his Judgments abroad into the World; and this Care al|wayes precedes the Judgment; he con&s;ults and provides always for their &s;afety, before he &s;ends his Judgments forth. As we &s;ee in <HI>Noah,</HI> provi&s;ion is made for his &s;afety before the World is drowned; And <HI>Lot</HI> mu&s;t be pluckt out of <HI>Sodom</HI> before it is burnt. And the Mourners in <HI>Jeru&s;u|&s;alem</HI> mu&s;t be marked, before the de|&s;troying
<PB N="26" REF="18"> Angels are &s;ent out, <HI>Ez.</HI> 9.4, 5.</P>
<P>And the four Angels mu&s;t not go forth to hurt the Earth, till the &s;er|vants of God are &s;ealed, <HI>Rev.</HI> 7.2, 3.</P>
<P>Now the Care that God takes of his people in time of publick Judg|ments, re&s;pects either their bodies or &s;ouls.</P>
<P>His care of their per&s;ons is &s;ome|times to pre&s;erve them from tho&s;e Evils which are coming upon the World. Thus he kept <HI>Noah</HI> and <HI>Lot,</HI> and the Mourners in <HI>Jeru&s;alem;</HI> the Angels had a charge not to come nigh them. Or,</P>
<P N="2">2dly, If he &s;uffer any of tho&s;e Judgments to reach them, yet he &s;up|ports them under them. Thus when God brought a Famine upon the Land of <HI>Canaan,</HI> he provided bread for <HI>Jacob</HI> in <HI>Egypt;</HI> and when it fell upon <HI>I&s;rael</HI> in <HI>Ahabs</HI> time, the Lord provided for <HI>Elijah</HI> and the Pro|phets, that they were kept alive. And
<PB N="27" REF="18"> this was one great act of God's Pro|vidence, to keep <HI>I&s;rael</HI> alive &s;o many years in a Wilderne&s;s, of which <HI>Mo|&s;es</HI> &s;peaking in this Chapter, &s;ayes, v. 27. <HI>The Eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are everla&s;ting Arms.</HI> God's Care is as much &s;een in keep|ing his people under trouble, as in keeping them from trouble.</P>
<P><HI>Secondly,</HI> God's Care of his Peo|ple under Publick Evils, re&s;pects their &s;ouls; and that al&s;o appears in two particulars.</P>
<P N="1">1. He hath a great Care of the Comforts of his People; he provides for The&s;e, as well as for their Lives and Eternal E&s;tates; he would not have their Spirits &s;ink under any trou|ble that befalls them. Therefore it is ob&s;ervable, when God was about to &s;end Judgments upon the earth, e&s;pe|cially &s;uch as may &s;eem to reach all, good and bad; he did u&s;e to give &s;ome warning before hand, and he fir&s;t denounc't the&s;e Judgments to
<PB N="28" REF="19"> awaken the wicked; now le&s;t the godly &s;hould be di&s;couraged by the&s;e, he did u&s;ually interweave tho&s;e Threatnings with &s;ome of the &s;weet|e&s;t Promi&s;es: For in&s;tance, read o|ver the&s;e few, in&s;tead of many, <HI>Jer.</HI> 30.12, 17. <HI>Ezek.</HI> 14.22. &amp; 16.60. <HI>Ho&s;.</HI> 1.10. &amp; 2.14. <HI>Nah.</HI> 1.2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. <HI>Hab.</HI> 3.5-13. In all which God is repre&s;ented very terrible in his Judgments, &s;o that it may be &s;aid of the Hou&s;e of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> as of <HI>Eli</HI>'s Hou&s;e, <HI>The ears of him that heareth &s;uch things, mu&s;t needs tingle.</HI> Yet you &s;hall not find &s;weeter Promi&s;es in all the Book of God, than in the&s;e places where he hath &s;o bitterly de|nounced his Judgments. This mu&s;t needs be in favour of his people, who&s;e hearts he would not have made &s;ad. And it is remarkable, when the Prophet <HI>Nahum</HI> had made &s;uch a terrible de&s;cription of God in his Power and Wrath, in the fir&s;t &s;ix ver&s;es, which might make the heart
<PB N="29" REF="19"> of a <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> to &s;hake, or an <HI>Elijah</HI> to cover him&s;elf with his Mantle; he adds <HI>ver.</HI> 7. <HI>The Lord is good, a &s;trong hold in the day of trouble, and he knoweth them that tru&s;t in him.</HI></P>
<P>Neither is that forementioned of <HI>Habbakkuk</HI> le&s;s ob&s;ervable, who ha|ving given the like dreadful account of God's coming forth to execute Judgment, in which he &s;ays, <HI>Hab.</HI> 3.5. <HI>Before him went the Pe&s;tilence, and burning coals went forth at his feet:</HI> Le&s;t his people &s;hould fear and flye from him al&s;o, he adds, ver. 13. <HI>Thou wente&s;t forth for the &s;alvation of thy people;</HI> And becau&s;e this might &s;eem incredible, that God &s;hould go forth in &s;uch a way as this, to &s;ave his people, nothing could be expect|ed but death from &s;uch a Providence; he therefore doubles the expre&s;&s;ion, <HI>Even for &s;alvation with thine Anoin|ted:</HI> As if he would be&s;peak the comfort of his people in this, What ever you &s;ee doing in the World, or
<PB N="30" REF="20"> how terrible &s;oever God appears in the way of his Judgments, yet be not you di&s;couraged, for he intends no hurt to you in all this, in the lat|ter end; but rather lift up your heads, becau&s;e the day of your Re|demption draws nigh.</P>
<P N="2">2. As he hath a Care of them, to comfort them again&s;t the coming of a Judgment; &s;o when he hath brought it, and it reaches them, he takes care to &s;anctifie it to them: Whatever they &s;u&s;tain or &s;uffer in their Bodies, Names or E&s;tates, it is made up in the communication of the Divine Nature, and the encrea&s;e of Grace, that is made by the&s;e things.</P>
<P>The Author to the <HI>Hebrews</HI> tells us plainly, That the End of God in afflicting his people, is their profit, <HI>Heb.</HI> 12.10. But what profit is it that comes by the&s;e? He tells us, it is the partaking of his Holine&s;&s;e. When we are made partakers of the
<PB N="31" REF="20"> Life of God, we are gainers, though we &s;hould lo&s;e our own lives in the inque&s;t of it. Therefore the Apo|&s;tle coun&s;els the Saints to rejoice in their afflictions, <HI>Jam.</HI> 1.2, 3. <HI>My Brethren, count it all joy when you fall into divers temptations, knowing this, That the trial of your Faith worketh patience.</HI> Never be &s;ad for what you &s;uffer, for if you get no|thing but patience, you will be gain|ers by all your &s;ufferings. Now Faith and Patience are as much tryed and improved by what we &s;uffer from God, as what we &s;uffer from men. And though it be hard upon this ac|count to rejoice under afflictions, yet the people of God do often rejoice after them, for the good they have received by them, as <HI>David, P&s;al.</HI> 119.71. <HI>It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn thy Sta|tutes:</HI> For he had &s;aid before, v. 67. <HI>Before I was afflicted, I went a&s;tray; but now have I kept thy word.</HI> Thus
<PB N="32" REF="21"> you &s;ee the Providence of God ap|pears towards his people, either in keeping them from the evils which fall upon others, or the &s;anctifying them to them, and turning them into good.</P>
<P><HI>Secondly,</HI> He hath a &s;pecial Care of his people to pre&s;erve them from tho&s;e Evils which their Enemies in|tend and de&s;ign again&s;t them, whe|ther it be the Devil or wicked men.</P>
<P N="1">1. God hath &s;o great a care of his people, that the Devil (their ad|ver&s;ary) who goeth about like a roar|ing Lyon, &s;eeking whom he may devour, yet cannot touch them without leave of God; as we &s;ee in the ca&s;e of <HI>Job</HI> 1.10. The Devil ac|knowledges that <HI>Job</HI> was &s;o well de|fended by the Hedg that God had made about him, that there was no touching of him; there was no gap in that Hedg, and it was too high and &s;trong to break over it; God mu&s;t open a door, and let him in, or he could do nothing to <HI>Job.</HI></P>
<P N="2"><PB N="33" REF="21">2. His Providence appears great|ly in pre&s;erving them in the World, in the mid&s;t of their Enemies, the Sons of <HI>Belial,</HI> and that &s;everal ways.</P>
<P N="1">1. He &s;ometimes re&s;traines their Enemies, and over-rules their Coun&s;els, that they cannot &s;peedily re&s;olve upon, or effectually execute what they de&s;ign. Thus he withheld <HI>Balaam</HI> from cur&s;ing <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> and re|&s;trained <HI>Laban</HI> from hurting <HI>Jacob.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2dly, He &s;tirs up &s;ecret friends to favour and to &s;helter his people when danger is near them. Thus he rai&s;ed up <HI>Obadiah</HI> in <HI>Ahab</HI>'s Court, to favour the Prophets of the Lord, and to hide and feed them in the per&s;ecution of <HI>Jezabel,</HI> and the &s;ore Famine that was upon the Land.</P>
<P N="3">3dly, He &s;omtimes converts their Enemies, and makes u&s;e of tho&s;e to build the Church, who had before de&s;troyed it: Thus he did by <HI>Paul,</HI> who breathed out threatnings again&s;t the Church of God.</P>
<P N="4"><PB N="34" REF="22">4thly, He &s;ometimes changes their minds, though he convert them not; as he dealt by <HI>E&s;au,</HI> whom the Lord made kind to his Brother <HI>Ja|cob,</HI> though he continued the &s;ame man he was.</P>
<P N="5">5thly, God &s;ome times takes them out of the way, as he did <HI>Herod, Matt.</HI> 1.20. who &s;ought after Chri&s;t in his Infancy, to cut him off. Thus the Lord pre&s;erves his people from the evils which might fall on them from men.</P>
<P><HI>Thirdly,</HI> His Providence is &s;een in keeping them from tho&s;e evils which they are prone to run them&s;elves into through ignorance or inadvertency. God pre&s;erves his people from many &s;ecret and un&s;een dangers, which they are not &s;en&s;ible of, &s;uch as they did not fore&s;ee, and therefore could not prevent. He hath given his An|gels charge concerning them, to keep them in all their ways, who &s;hall bear them in their hands, le&s;t they
<PB N="35" REF="22"> &s;hould da&s;h their feet again&s;t a &s;tone, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 91.11, 12. They have a charge from God to watch over his people, and they are faithful and affectionate to pre&s;erve them from tho&s;e evils which they ob&s;erve not, and are prone to overlook.</P>
<P><HI>Fourthly,</HI> God's Providence ap|pears toward his people in this, That when he &s;ends any Judgment upon the Earth, that is to be executed by an un&s;een hand, he will not tru&s;t it in the hands of the Evil Angels, but employs the Good Angels, who are Friends and Guardians to his people, and of the Family with them of the fir&s;t-born. This we &s;ee in the ca&s;e of <HI>Sodom</HI> and <HI>Gomorrah,</HI> he &s;ends the Angels about this Work, who might &s;ecure <HI>Lot</HI> in the de&s;truction of it, <HI>Gen.</HI> 19.1. And when the great Plague was &s;ent upon <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> which de&s;troyed Seventy Thou&s;and men in three days, 2 <HI>Sam.</HI> 24.15. it was ex|ecuted by a good Angel. Doubtle&s;s
<PB N="36" REF="23"> the Devil would have been glad of &s;uch an Employment, but God would not for his peoples &s;akes tru&s;t him with any &s;uch power.</P>
<P><HI>Fifthly,</HI> God's Care for his peo|ple is &s;o great, that it is without any intermi&s;&s;ion, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 121.3, 4. <HI>He will not &s;uffer thy foot to be moved; he that keepeth thee will not &s;lumber: Be|hold, he that keepeth I&s;rael, &s;hall nei|ther &s;lumber nor &s;leep.</HI> God's Care of his people is a con&s;tant, uninter|mitted Care, it leaves no door open for the vigilant Enemy. <HI>Saul</HI> thought him&s;elf &s;afe when he &s;lept among&s;t his Captains and Souldiers, who had a &s;pecial charge to watch for their Kings Life; but while his numerous Guard were all a&s;leep, <HI>David</HI> went out into his camp, and took away <HI>Sauls</HI> Spear, which was at his Bol|&s;ter, and with it might have taken away his Life, 1 <HI>Sam.</HI> 26.12.</P>
<P>But God's Providence for his Peo|ple neither &s;leeps nor &s;lumbers;
<PB N="37" REF="23"> therefore their Enemies can take no &s;uch advantage of them.</P>
<P><HI>Sixthly,</HI> So great is the Lord's Care for his People, that their pre|&s;ervation in the world was the great thing which lay upon the heart of Chri&s;t when he was going out of the world. And we all know, that mens affections are then di&s;covered; tho&s;e whom we love, we provide for then. <HI>John</HI> 17.9. <HI>I pray for them, I pray not for the world, but for them that thou ha&s;t given me out of the world.</HI> ver. 15. <HI>I pray not that thou &s;hould&s;t take them out of the world, but that thou &s;hould&s;t keep them from the evil.</HI> The whole Chapter is full of the ex|pre&s;&s;ions of his wonderful Love and tender Care for his People, which he uttered at that time, as he him&s;elf tells them, that they might have his Joy fulfilled in them&s;elves, that all the people of God might know how his heart in Heaven, is affected to|wards them on Earth. Thus you &s;ee
<PB N="38" REF="24"> wherein God expre&s;&s;es his Care of his people; next follow the Rea&s;ons that may be a&s;&s;igned for this, and they are,</P>
<P><HI>Rea&s;.</HI> 1. They are his Children; they &s;tand in &s;uch a Relation to him, as engages him to be careful of them. They are born unto him by Regene|ration. Now we cannot think that the God of Nature, who hath im|printed this upon every Creature, to take care of its own, will him&s;elf be found wanting in this.</P>
<P>The tenderne&s;s and care of men and bea&s;ts to their little ones, is all derived from him; and will not then his Love and Care much more exceed theirs? He tells us him&s;elf, that the Mother may forget the Son of her Womb, that &s;he &s;hould not have compa&s;&s;ion on him; but the Lord will not forget his people, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 49.15</P>
<P><HI>Rea&s;.</HI> 2. They are his Jewels, of the greate&s;t price to him, his peculiar Trea&s;ure, <HI>Exod.</HI> 19.5. He &s;ets a high|er
<PB N="39" REF="24"> price upon them, than he does upon all the world be&s;ide. This he confirms by actions, and renders as the rea&s;on of &s;ome remarkable Pro|vidences of his, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 105.14. <HI>He &s;uffered no man to do them wrong; yea, he reproved Kings for their &s;akes.</HI> He values their Ran&s;ome at a higher rate, for he gives whole Countries and Kingdoms for them, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 43.3. <HI>I gave Egypt for thy ran&s;ome, Ethiopia and Seba for thee.</HI> This is a &s;ufficient proof of the high e&s;teem that God hath of them; and things which we highly prize, we tenderly care for.</P>
<P><HI>Rea&s;.</HI> 3. They are his Portion, his Inheritance, all that he hath &s;et apart for him&s;elf in the World, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 4.3. <HI>The Lord hath &s;et apart him that is godly for him&s;elf,</HI> Deut. 32.9. <HI>The Lords portion is his people; Jacob is the Lot of his Inheritance.</HI> The&s;e are mighty expre&s;&s;ions, enough to a&s;to|ni&s;h us, That God who is Lord of of all the World, who hath Heaven
<PB N="40" REF="25"> and Earth, and all that is therein, &s;hould, as it were, quit his Intere&s;t in all the re&s;t, and count it incon&s;idera|ble and little worth, in compari&s;on of a few that he hath cho&s;en out of it, who were as bad as the re&s;t, excep|ting in what they are beholding to him for, and are made better by his choice.</P>
<P N="4"><HI>Rea&s;.</HI> 4. His Honor depends up|on the&s;e, they are the only people that lay his Concernments to heart, and take care of his glory; others do &s;erve, and help forward his de|&s;igns in the world, but they do it not out of de&s;ign, they mind only their own things; but his people de&s;ign to &s;erve and honor him, and mind his glory as their greate&s;t intere&s;t in the world, <HI>Phil.</HI> 1.20, 21. <HI>As always, &s;o now al&s;o, Chri&s;t &s;hall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life or death; for to me to live is Chri&s;t, and to dye is gain.</HI> The glory of Chri&s;t is that which a Chri&s;tian aims at in life and
<PB N="41" REF="25"> death; yea, he makes every particu|lar action &s;ub&s;ervient to this, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 10.31. <HI>Whether ye eat or drink, or whatever ye do, do all to the glory of God.</HI> Now it is no wonder if God take care for tho&s;e who take care for him; if they de&s;ign his glory, much more does he their pre&s;ervation.</P>
<P><HI>Rea&s;.</HI> 5. Becau&s;e he hath dearly purcha&s;ed them, he hath bought them at a dear rate, he hath bought them at fir&s;t with a great price, not of fil|ver and gold, but with the precious blood of Chri&s;t, 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 1.18, 19. Be|&s;ide this, he oftentimes makes a pro|vidential purcha&s;e of them, by gi|ving men and people for them, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 43, 3. Now we know, that the things which we purcha&s;e dearly, we lay up &s;afely, and keep them care|fully, becau&s;e we will not lo&s;e the co&s;t and charge we have been at. Thus God rea&s;ons from former mer|cies, to future pre&s;ervations, <HI>I&s;a</HI> 43.4. <HI>Since thou ha&s;t been precious in
<PB N="42" REF="26"> my &s;ight, thou ha&s;t been honourable, and I have loved thee; therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Rea&s;.</HI> 6. He is careful of them, becau&s;e they love him; the&s;e are the people of all the world, that love God; therefore they are the people that he minds above all the world; he hath their hearts, and therefore they have his. P&s;al. 91.14. When God had &s;poken of his care of his people, and their &s;afety from the Pe&s;tilence, he adds this as the Rea&s;on, <HI>Becau&s;e he hath &s;et his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Rea&s;.</HI> 7. The Rea&s;on of all Rea|&s;ons is, He hath &s;et his love upon them, P&s;al. 146.8. <HI>The Lord loveth the righteous.</HI> John 16.27. <HI>The Fa|ther him&s;elf loveth you.</HI> Nay, &s;o great is the Love of God to his people, that he is called Love, 1 <HI>John</HI> 4.16. Now tho&s;e whom we love, we take care of; we con&s;ider
<PB N="43" REF="26" MS="y"> not &s;o much their merit or demerit, if they be in danger; but we feel in our &s;elves what they &s;uffer; and we can no more forbear to prevent an evil that we &s;ee coming upon them, or labour to remove it when it is come, than we can forbear to &s;eek out for help for our &s;elves, if we were in the &s;ame ca&s;e. God's Love makes him &s;ympathize with his peo|ple in all their &s;ufferings, therefore he &s;ayes by the Prophet, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 63.9. <HI>In all their afflictions I was afflicted with them;</HI> wonder not then at what follows, <HI>the Angel of his pre&s;ence &s;a|ved them, in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the dayes of old.</HI> Where Love is &s;o powerful to cau&s;e &s;uch a &s;en&s;e of affliction, it mu&s;t needs awaken our care, and &s;tir up all our circum&s;pection to prevent or re|move the evil which fall upon us, in falling upon tho&s;e we love.</P>
<PB N="44" REF="27" MS="y">
<P>Thus I have endeavoured to make this Truth clear; yet before I im|prove it, I mu&s;t remove &s;ome obje|ctions out of the way.</P>
<P><HI>Obj.</HI> 1. <HI>How does the Care of God appear for his people, &s;eeing we find that they have often been made a prey to the wicked, and the Scripture gives an account of hard things that they have &s;uffered under them?</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> The Scripture which gives us account of their &s;ufferings, tells us al&s;o of their pre&s;ervation under tho&s;e troubles, &s;o that rightly con&s;i|dered, they do not darken, but clear the Providence of God. How did God pre&s;erve <HI>I&s;rael</HI> in <HI>Egypt, Exod.</HI> 3.2. though the bu&s;h burned with fire, it was not con&s;umed? And as the Apo&s;tle &s;ays concerning him&s;elf and the Primitive Chri&s;tians, 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 4.9. Though they were per&s;ecuted, yet they were not for&s;aken.</P>
<P N="2"><PB N="45" REF="27" MS="y">2. God's Care of his people ap|pears in this, That he encrea&s;ed them by their Troubles, as well as pre&s;erv|ed them under them, <HI>Exod.</HI> 1.12. the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew; and it hath been the experience of the Chri&s;tian Church, <HI>That the blood of the Mar|tyrs hath been the Seed of the Church.</HI></P>
<P N="3">3. His Care appears greatly in ca|ring for their &s;ouls; he &s;anctifies the&s;e troubles to them, and does them a great deal of good in the trying and &s;trengthening of their Graces, 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 1.7. <HI>The tryal of your Faith being much more precious than Gold,</HI> Rom. 5.3, 4, 5. <HI>We glory in tribu|lation, knowing that tribulation work|eth patience, and patience experience, and experience hope.</HI> Nay, he does not only do them good at pre&s;ent, but makes way for glory, 2 Cor. 4.17. <HI>Our light affliction which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more ex|ceeding and eternal weight of glory.</HI></P>
<P N="4"><PB N="46" REF="28">4. Though he hath often given them up into the hands of wicked men, that they might &s;hew their ma|lice and hatred again&s;t them; yet he never gave them up to the wills of &s;uch; he hath not left wicked men at their own liberty, to do as they plea&s;ed; but God hath re&s;erved to him&s;elf the ordering and proportion|ing of their troubles, to their &s;trength; he hath appointed what they &s;hall &s;uffer, for number, how many blows they &s;hall bear; for weight, how heavy they &s;hall be; and for time, how long they &s;hall conti|nue.</P>
<P N="5">5. God hath always had &s;uch a Care of them, that they have never peri&s;hed under their afflictions. Though they have fallen, yet they have not peri&s;hed. They have laid down their lives, but they have not lo&s;t them: Their lives have not been taken away, but upon &s;uch terms as they have been willing to part with
<PB N="47" REF="28" MS="y"> them, and in which they are gainers, <HI>Phil.</HI> 1.21. He that could &s;ay, <HI>To him to live was Chri&s;t,</HI> could al&s;o &s;ay, <HI>to dye is gain;</HI> therefore he comfort|ed him&s;elf in this, That though he might lay down his life in tho&s;e troubles which he underwent at <HI>Rome,</HI> yet he &s;hould have a con&s;ider|able value for it, for Chri&s;t &s;hould be manife&s;ted in his body, whether it were by life or death.</P>
<P>Obj. 2. <HI>Scripture and Experience both tell us, That all things fall alike to all,</HI> Eccle&s;. 9.2, 3. <HI>&s;o that love or hatred is not to be known by any thing before us.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> 1. This mu&s;t be under&s;tood of outward things only thus far, That wicked men have their &s;hares in the good things of this life; and good men have their part in the evil things of it: There is no outward good, but the wicked have enjoy'd; nor
<PB N="48" REF="29"> no outward trouble and affliction but hath befallen the righteous; and as they have their &s;hares of the&s;e, &s;o they have but a &s;hare of them; the good have not all the evil, nor the wicked all the good of this world; and there is rea&s;on for this, becau&s;e the wicked have their good things here, and the good have their evil things.</P>
<P N="2">2. Though all things do fall alike to all, yet all things do not work alike to all. God's care is &s;een in ordering tho&s;e things which befall his people for their good, in making tho&s;e things good in the conclu&s;ion, which are evil in them&s;elves; whereas tho&s;e things which are good in them|&s;elves, or at lea&s;t reputed &s;o among men, are for the hurt of tho&s;e who enjoy them, when they fall into the hands of wicked men, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 11.6. <HI>Upon the wicked he &s;hall rain &s;nares.</HI> There is nothing that &s;uch a one en|joys, but it is a &s;nare to him, to en|tangle
<PB N="49" REF="29"> and hold him fa&s;t till God ca&s;t him into Hell; whereas the &s;ame things are helps to a good man to bring him to Heaven, <HI>Rom.</HI> 8.28. <HI>All things work together for good to tho&s;e that love God.</HI> So that although Good and Evil be di&s;pen&s;ed promi&s;cuou&s;ly among good and bad, and they &s;eem to fare all alike; yet does God under the&s;e carry on di|&s;tinct and different works of Mercy and Judgment; of Mercy to the good for their Salvation; and of Judgment to the wicked for their hardning: So that herein is &s;een the Providence of God towards his people, that he furthers their Sal|vation by tho&s;e things which are an occa&s;ion of hardening others; and by tho&s;e Providences which are common to them and others, he carries on a &s;pecial de&s;ign of Grace and Mercy to them. So that there is a va&s;t difference betwixt tho&s;e things which &s;eem to be the &s;ame. For
<PB N="50" REF="30"> though the godly have all the troubles in the World which any other do meet withall, yet they have not the Wrath and Di&s;plea&s;ure of God in them, but a &s;ecret a&s;&s;i&s;tance and &s;upport under them; and though the wicked have all the outward ble&s;&s;ings that God be|&s;tows upon his own, yet they have not the Love of God in and through them, and his Ble&s;&s;ing with them, as the godly have.</P>
<P N="3">3. Though outward things are not &s;ufficient to di&s;cover Love or Hatred, they alone are not proofs of one or other; yet it is unque|&s;tionably true, That the Love and Hatred of God do run thorough the&s;e things al&s;o: God orders and di&s;po&s;es outward things in his love to the Godly; and though &s;en&s;e cannot di&s;cern his Love by the&s;e, yet Faith can often &s;ee it thorow them; and the outward Providen|ces of God &s;peak his di&s;plea&s;ure to
<PB N="51" REF="30"> the wicked; yea, he often times gives them tho&s;e things in wrath, in which they ble&s;&s;ed them&s;elves; and when they have both fini&s;hed their races, and they &s;hall both look back upon their lives from E|ternity, they will both agree in this, That they were in nothing more unlike, than in that in which they &s;eemed to be alike.</P>
<P>Obj. 3. <HI>But we &s;ee that not only the godly do partake of the &s;ame Judge|ments which befall the wicked, but the wicked al&s;o do &s;hare in the &s;ame mercies and pre&s;ervations with the righteous; they al&s;o are pre&s;erved in time of danger with the other, no judgement, but takes away as good as it leaves behind it; and leaves as bad as it takes away; where then is &s;een God's care of his people?</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> There is a great difference betwixt the Judgments and Mercies
<PB N="52" REF="31"> of the good and bad, though they &s;eem to be the &s;ame, and to &s;ence without difference.</P>
<P>For the Mercies of the godly are indeed &s;ent in Mercy to his people; he orders one Mercy towards ano|ther, a temporal Mercy towards a &s;piritual one, and one Mercy is a pledg of another; &s;o that a good man can &s;ay often times by Faith, as <HI>Leah</HI> did, <HI>Gen.</HI> 30.11. <HI>Behold a troop cometh.</HI> And as <HI>David</HI> rea&s;oned from his deliverance from the Lyon and the Bear, to his deliverance from the <HI>Phili&s;tins;</HI> &s;o can a good man rea&s;on from one Mercy of a|ny kind to another; but if God give any thing to a wicked man that &s;eems a Mercy, it is but to prevent a greater Mercy, a Tem|poral to prevent a Spiritual; he gives them temporal Rewards here for any &s;ervice they do him, to take off their claim to any hereaf|ter.</P>
<PB N="53" REF="31">
<P>Again, if he &s;end any Judgment upon his people, it is not to de&s;troy, but to prevent de&s;truction; he &s;ends temporal judgments to prevent &s;piri|tual; he afflicts them here, that they might not peri&s;h with the World; but to the wicked he &s;ends one judg|ment to make way for another; thus all the Judgments which fell on the <HI>Egyptians</HI> in their own Land, made way for their overthrow at the Red Sea: For this mu&s;t be ob&s;erved, That though publike Judgments do &s;pare bad as well as good, and both &s;eem to be alike wonderfully delivered from it; yet it is with a great differ|ence, One is a pre&s;ervation from the Evil, and the other a re&s;ervati|on for &s;ome greater Evil. We read, That the Mourners in <HI>Jeru&s;alem</HI> were marked, <HI>Ezek.</HI> 9 4. that they might be pre&s;erved from the de&s;tru|ction which God was bringing upon the City. We find al&s;o, that <HI>Cain</HI> was marked, that he might not be
<PB N="54" REF="32" MS="y"> &s;lain, the fir&s;t was doubtle&s;s in mer|cy, but mo&s;t Interpreters agree in this, That <HI>Cain</HI>'s was a Judgment upon him, a trembling of his heart and head, which imply'd his guilt, and was a terror to others, as well as to him&s;elf.</P>
<P>Here then may ari&s;e a great and weighty Que&s;tion worthy of the &s;erious con&s;ideration of tho&s;e whom the late Judgment of Pe&s;tilence hath &s;pared.</P>
<P>Que&s;t. <HI>How &s;hall I know whether my pre&s;ervation from this Judgment be a &s;pecial Mercy, or a fruit of Com|mon Providence? Or whether it be not wor&s;e, a re&s;ervation unto evil?</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> You &s;hall know three ways. Fir&s;t, By &s;ome things which go be|fore &s;uch a pre&s;ervation. Secondly, By &s;ome things which accompany it. Thirdly, By &s;ome things which fol|low it.</P>
<PB N="55" REF="32">
<P><HI>Fir&s;t,</HI> Some things go before &s;uch Deliverances as the&s;e, when they are in Mercy; and they are &s;uch as the&s;e.</P>
<P><HI>Fir&s;t,</HI> A &s;en&s;e of the danger that we are in, that &s;o we may be taken off from all &s;elf-confidence, and fitted for the ob&s;erving and honour|ing of Divine Goodne&s;s: Thus it was with <HI>Paul,</HI> 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 1.9. <HI>We had the &s;entence of death in our &s;elves, that we &s;hould not tru&s;t in our &s;elves, but in God which rai&s;eth the dead.</HI> He was as a dead man in his own ap|prehen&s;ions, and was taken off from all hopes and dependencies upon creatures, and had nothing to hold by, but this, <HI>That God was able to rai&s;e the dead:</HI> This &s;en&s;e of danger u&s;hered in a great deliverance, and made way for the magnifying of the Mercy of God; and indeed when God intends to ble&s;s and &s;anctifie any deliverance to a man, he pre|pares him by the &s;en&s;e of his danger,
<PB N="56" REF="33"> for a thankful reception of the Mer|cy.</P>
<P><HI>Secondly,</HI> As there is commonly a &s;en&s;e of the danger, &s;o there is al&s;o of our own unworthine&s;s of that mercy which we de&s;ire, and of that which we enjoy already, and of our ill de&s;erving in re&s;pect of the evil that we fear. Thus it was with <HI>Ja|cob</HI> when he was in danger of falling into his Brothers hands, <HI>Gen.</HI> 32.10, 11. <HI>I am not worthy of the lea&s;t of all the mercies, and of all the truth which thou ha&s;t &s;hewed unto thy &s;er|vant; for with my &s;taff I pa&s;&s;ed over this Jordan, and now I am become two bands. Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my Brother.</HI> A &s;en&s;e of our unworthine&s;s of what we have already received of the Lord, is a great argument that God intends us more.</P>
<P><HI>Thirdly,</HI> A Spirit of Prayer; to be earne&s;t, and &s;trive with God for the mercy. God &s;eldom gives any
<PB N="57" REF="33"> thing to his people in mercy, but he &s;ends a Spirit of Prayer to u&s;her it in. When God would deliver <HI>Jacob</HI> from the hands of <HI>E&s;au,</HI> he pours out a mighty Spirit of Prayer, and he wre&s;tled with God all the night, <HI>Gen.</HI> 32.24. Now what was his wre&s;t|ling? the Prophet <HI>Ho&s;ea</HI> expounds it, <HI>Ho&s;.</HI> 12.4. <HI>He had power over the Angel, and prevailed; he wept and made &s;upplication to him.</HI> And what did <HI>Jacob</HI> pray for this night? he told us before, <HI>Gen.</HI> 32.11. <HI>Deli|ver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my Brother, from the hand of E&s;au, for I fear him, le&s;t he will come and &s;mite me, and the Mother with the Children. Jacob</HI> &s;aw that his whole Family lay at &s;take now, there was but a &s;tep betwixt them and death; therefore he be&s;tirs him&s;elf, and will not give over till he gets the victory, and prevail with God; he will not leave praying till he carry away a per|&s;wa&s;ion that his prayers are an&s;wered.</P>
<PB N="58" REF="34">
<P><HI>Fourthly,</HI> An humble Spirit, to &s;ubmit to the hand of God under that affliction and danger which we pray to be delivered from. It is no contradiction to pray again&s;t an af|fliction, and yet &s;ubmit to the will of God. A man may pray a|gain&s;t the evil, and yet &s;ubmit to the will of God; and this is very ac|ceptable unto God, it is a fore-run|ner of deliverance from trouble al|ready come, and may well be a &s;ign of pre&s;ervation from danger ap|proaching, <HI>Lev.</HI> 26.41, 42. <HI>If their uncircumci&s;ed hearts &s;hall be humb|led, and they then accept of the pun|i&s;hment of their iniquity, then will I remember my Covenant with I&s;rael.</HI> This frame of Spirit was found in <HI>David,</HI> when that heavy affliction befel him, that his own Son rebelled again&s;t him, 2 <HI>Sam.</HI> 16.11, 12. <HI>Let him alone, and let him cur&s;e, for the Lord hath bidden him. David</HI> &s;toop|ed under God's hand in this afflicti|on,
<PB N="59" REF="34"> and this was an argument that God would deliver him out of that trouble, as we &s;ee he did.</P>
<P><HI>Fifthly,</HI> Mourning for tho&s;e evils which we &s;ee God is about to pun|i&s;h. When God finds us mourning for our own and other mens &s;ins, whether he &s;pare us or take us away in the judgment that is coming, ei|ther is in mercy. If he &s;pare us, it is to &s;ee better days, and to enjoy bet|ter things; if he take us away, it is from the evil that is to come; but commonly God hath a care of &s;uch to pre&s;erve them from the evil, as we &s;ee he did the Mourners in <HI>Jeru&s;a|lem,</HI> when a general judgment was come upon the City, <HI>Ezek.</HI> 9.4, 5, 6.</P>
<P>Now it is our work to reflect up|on our hearts, and con&s;ider, how we have found them under the appre|hen&s;ions of this judgment of the Pe|&s;tilence approaching; if we have found &s;uch impre&s;&s;ions as the&s;e, we
<PB N="60" REF="35"> may conclude that our lives have been given us in mercy, and that they are the fruits of Gods &s;pecial providence and goodne&s;s.</P>
<P><HI>Secondly,</HI> You &s;hall know by &s;ome things which did accompany this pre&s;ervation. While this judg|ment from which you are pre&s;erved did hang over your heads, you had &s;ome &s;uch impre&s;&s;ions as the&s;e upon your &s;pirits.</P>
<P><HI>Fir&s;t,</HI> A re&s;olution to depend up|on God, in the mid'&s;t of trouble, un|till the calamity be over-pa&s;t. When God intends to give in a mercy of this kind, he commonly draws forth Faith to act for it, at lea&s;t a Faith of dependance, though not a Faith of a&s;&s;urance; and though there may be many fears, yet the&s;e may &s;erve to quicken and &s;tir up Faith of adhe|rence to depend upon God.</P>
<P>This is the meaning of entring in|to thy chambers, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 26.20. Which doth not deny a prudent
<PB N="61" REF="35"> u&s;e of means to prevent evil and dan|ger, but imply a tru&s;ting more to God to pre&s;erve us, then to the means we u&s;e. <HI>Prov.</HI> 3.5, 6. <HI>Tru&s;t to the Lord with all thy heart, and lean not to thine own under&s;tanding; in all thy ways acknowledg him, and he &s;hall direct thy paths.</HI> A man is not for|bidden to u&s;e his own under&s;tand|ing, but to lean to it. There may be not only a care to prevent danger, but a fear of it; when we have u&s;ed means, and yet a dependance upon God, a ca&s;ting of our &s;elves upon him for help, with a re&s;olution to rely upon him, and particularly in this ca&s;e of the Pe&s;tilence, pre&s;erva|tion is promi&s;ed only upon condition of a Faith of reliance and dependance upon God. As we may &s;ee in the connexion of the 1, 2, 3 ver&s;es, of the 91. <HI>P&s;al. He that dwelleth in the &s;ecret place of the mo&s;t high, &s;hall a|bide under the &s;haddow of the Almigh|ty.</HI> What is the meaning of this, but
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<PB N="62" REF="37"> that he that makes God his refuge in danger, &s;hall be &s;afe under his pro|tection; from this general propo&s;iti|on <HI>David</HI> takes up a particular re&s;o|lution to depend upon God, <HI>I will &s;ay of the Lord, he is my refuge and my fortre&s;s, my God, in him will I tru&s;t.</HI> And from thence he infers for his own, the comfort of all that do thus. <HI>Surely he &s;hall deliver thee from the &s;nare of the fowler, and from the noi&s;ome Pe&s;tilence.</HI></P>
<P>The connexion of the 9. <HI>&amp;</HI> 10. ver&s;es of this <HI>P&s;alm,</HI> are no le&s;s con|&s;iderable than the&s;e. <HI>Becau&s;e thou ha&s;t made the Lord, which is my re|fuge, even the mo&s;t high, thy habita|tion there &s;hall no evil befall thee, neither &s;hall the Plague come nigh thy dwelling.</HI> Where &s;uch a particular act of Faith goes before, pre&s;erva|tion from the evil commonly fol|lows; and this is always the fruit of &s;pecial grace.</P>
<P><HI>Secondly,</HI> Where pre&s;ervation is
<PB N="63" REF="37"> in mercy, there is found an accep|tance of life, and liberty, and peace; and what ever we enjoy in this as from the hand of God, taking all from him. Faith is a Grace that fet|ches all from God, and gives all to him; it hath to do with God in e|very thing, and looks over, and be|yond every creature and means, to him; if Faith apprehend a danger, it takes its pre&s;ervation from it, as well as its deliverance out of it, e|qually from God. This we &s;ee in <HI>David, P&s;al.</HI> 18.2. <HI>The Lord is my rock, and my fortre&s;s, and my deli|verer, my God, my &s;trength, in whom I will tru&s;t, my buckler, and the horn of my Salvation, and my high tower. David</HI> gives God all tho&s;e titles which we give to tho&s;e things from whence we expect or receive help; whatever men fly too, or depend upon in time of danger, that is God unto <HI>David;</HI> therefore he a&s;cribes all the deliverance that he had from
<PB N="64" REF="38"> trouble, to the Lord alone; he takes his life as given him by the Lord, ver. 16.17. <HI>He &s;ent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters, he delivered me from my &s;trong ene|my.</HI> And as he acknowledges his pre&s;ervation from danger, &s;o he al|&s;o confe&s;&s;es all the good that he in|joys to be peculiarly from the Lord. <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 23.5. <HI>Thou prepare&s;t a table for me in the pre&s;ence of mine ene|mies: thou anointe&s;t my head with oil, my cup runneth over:</HI> Thus where God gives any thing in mercy, he gives a heart to acknowledg the mer|cy to be from him, and to eye God particularly in it.</P>
<P><HI>Thirdly,</HI> A high e&s;teem of the mercy that comes in &s;uch a way. The &s;ea&s;on and the conveyance of the mercy, do much advance the price of it. To live in dying times, to be &s;afe when others are in danger, to be in peace when others are in trouble, is a mercy to be highly pri|zed.</P>
<PB N="65" REF="38">
<P>To have all the&s;e at &s;uch a time, is much; but to have them in an&s;wer to prayer, to have them through the Promi&s;e and Covenant of Grace, is a great deal more. To have the&s;e, not as the fruit of common provi|dence, but of &s;pecial grace and fa|therly care' &s;ets a great lu&s;tre upon the mercy, and makes it very preci|ous in the e&s;teem of the &s;oul. We &s;ee <HI>David</HI> was much affected with deliverance that the Lord gave him, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 116. <HI>Becau&s;e it was in a time of great trouble and danger.</HI> v. 3. <HI>The &s;orrows of death compa&s;&s;ed me.</HI> And becau&s;e he &s;aw the hand of God emi|nently in it, v. 6. <HI>The Lord pre|&s;erveth the &s;imple, I was brought low and he helped me.</HI> He prized it the more becau&s;e it came as an an&s;wer to his prayers. v. 1. <HI>I love the Lord be|cau&s;e he hath heard my voice and my &s;upplications.</HI> And cheifly, becau&s;e through all this, he &s;aw that God had a &s;ingular care of him, and a
<PB N="66" REF="39"> high e&s;teem of his life; and not on|ly of his, but of all tho&s;e that fear him, ver. 15. <HI>Precious in the &s;ight of the Lord is the death of his Saints.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Fourthly,</HI> Then pre&s;ervation from danger comes in &s;pecial mer|cy to us, when the &s;ame impre&s;&s;i|ons are found upon our &s;pirits, which the affliction &s;anctified &s;hould have wrought upon us. When the keeping off of an Evil, doth work the &s;ame things, that this &s;hould have produced, if it had come, and had been &s;anctified to the &s;oul, then the pre&s;ervation from this, is in mer|cy to the &s;oul. As for example, Art thou in health, when others are &s;ick? Art thou free, when others are &s;hut up? Ha&s;t thou life and &s;trength, when others are upon beds of lan|gui&s;hing? Then enquire, Do&s;t thou find tho&s;e workings of thy heart as are &s;uitable to a gracious &s;pirit upon a &s;ick bed? Do&s;t thou &s;ee the vanity
<PB N="67" REF="39"> of the World, the &s;hortne&s;s of time? Do&s;t thou mourn for the lo&s;s of time, as they do who are going into Eter|nity? And art thou careful to call thy Evidences together? Do&s;t thou &s;ee the preciou&s;ne&s;s of thy &s;oul, the weight of Eternity, the excel|lency of Chri&s;t, and of an Intere&s;t in God, as if thou wert upon a Death-bed? Oh then thy pre&s;erva|tion is a mercy to thee; for the&s;e &s;hould have been the gracious fruits of &s;uch a condition, if thou had&s;t been brought into it; for God hath done that good by keeping off the affliction, which he &s;hould have done thee by it, if it had fallen upon thee, and had been ble&s;t unto thee.</P>
<P><HI>Fifthly,</HI> Then Pre&s;ervation is in love, when it is accompanied with a &s;ingular love to God. Thou wilt find thy heart not only in love with God, but thou wilt call upon thy heart more and more to love God. This was <HI>David's</HI> care, to engage his heart
<PB N="68" REF="40"> to God, becau&s;e of that &s;ingular pro|vidence of his over him, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 116.1. He is al&s;o much affected with the goodne&s;s of God towards his people, he therefore &s;tirs up others to love him in re&s;pect of his Providence, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 31.19, 20,, 23. <HI>Oh how great is thy goodne&s;s which thou ha&s;t laid up for them that fear thee, which thou ha&s;t wrought for them that tru&s;t in thee, before the &s;ons of men. Thou &s;halt hide them in the &s;ecret of thy pre&s;ence, from the pride of men; thou &s;halt keep them &s;ecretly in a pavilli|on, from the &s;trife of tongues.</HI> Hence he takes occa&s;ion, ver. 23. to call upon men to love God: <HI>O love the Lord, all ye Saints, for the Lord pre|&s;erveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer.</HI> It is but rea&s;onable that when we &s;ee more of God's love in any Providence, it &s;hould engage us to put in more of our love into every duty. We &s;hould be full of affection and zeal for the
<PB N="69" REF="40"> glory of that God, who we &s;ee cares for us.</P>
<P><HI>Thirdly,</HI> We &s;hall know whether this Pre&s;ervation be in mercy, by tho&s;e things which follow it.</P>
<P><HI>Fir&s;t,</HI> If there be found in us a care to keep tho&s;e impre&s;&s;ions alive which were made upon our hearts in the time of danger and trouble, and our pre&s;ervation under it. Many men have &s;ome &s;ence of the Mercy and Goodne&s;s of God in time of great danger, and &s;eem to be affected with their deliverance; but the&s;e are only made by &s;ome extraordinary Provi|dence, the&s;e things do not abide up|on their &s;pirits; whereas a good man labours to keep all the impre&s;&s;ions that are made upon his heart, either under affliction, or by any Mercy, fre&s;h and lively, that &s;o the frame of his heart may be bettered, and that he may get a &s;ound and good con&s;ti|tution of &s;oul.</P>
<PB N="70" REF="41">
<P><HI>Secondly,</HI> There will be found in us a great care to live up to the en|gagements of &s;uch a condition, as we &s;ee it was in <HI>David, P&s;al.</HI> 116.8, 9, 12, 13, 14, 17. <HI>Thou ha&s;t delivered my &s;oul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling.</HI> What follows the &s;en&s;e of this Mercy? &s;ee in the following ver&s;es: <HI>I will walk before the Lord in the Land of the living. What &s;hall I render unto the Lord for all his be|nefits towards me? I will take the Cup of Salvation, and call upon the Name of the Lord. I will pay my vows unto the Lord now in the pre|&s;ence of all his people. I will offer to thee the &s;acrifice of Thanksgiving, and will call upon the Name of the Lord.</HI> Thus we &s;ee <HI>David's</HI> mercies had an influence upon his whole life, as his outward condition is better'd &s;o his whole life is better'd, made more holy, and conform to the will of God. He con&s;idered not only
<PB N="71" REF="41"> what engagements God had laid up|on him by his deliverance; but al&s;o what engagements he had upon him|&s;elf: For there are duties which &s;pring out of the Mercies which we have received, and there are du|ties which ari&s;e out of the promi&s;es which we have made to God, upon condition of deliverance; and a good man con&s;iders both the&s;e.</P>
<P><HI>David</HI> had an eye to the former, when he &s;aid, <HI>What &s;hall I render to the Lord for all his benefits?</HI> And he had re&s;pect to the latter, when he &s;ayes, <HI>I will pay my vows unto the Lord:</HI> And God expects it at our hands, that we &s;hould call to mind the Promi&s;es that we make in time of trouble; snd the be&s;t of God's People have need to be min|ded of them; for we are apter to make them, than to keep them: We may &s;ee this in <HI>Jacob,</HI> who was ready to make a vow in his affliction, <HI>Gen.</HI> 28.20, 21, 22. <HI>And Jacob vowed a
<PB N="72" REF="42"> vow, &s;aying, If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, &s;o that I come again to my fathers hou&s;e in peace, then &s;hall the Lord be my God; and this &s;tone which I have &s;et for a pillar, &s;hall be Gods hou&s;e.</HI> But when God had given him not only food and raiment, but had multiplied him greatly, he mu&s;t be called upon to make good this vow, <HI>Gen.</HI> 35.1. <HI>And God &s;aid to Jacob, Ari&s;e, go up to Bethel, and dwell there, and make there an Al|tar unto God that appeared unto thee when thou fledde&s;t from the face of E&s;au thy Brother.</HI> We &s;hould learn of the Mariners in <HI>Jonah,</HI> who made vows after they were deli|vered; Many will make them be|fore, and forget them afterward; but a good man either makes them after deliverance, or makes good tho&s;e that he made before. It is
<PB N="73" REF="42"> good to take up our vows when our troubles are cea&s;ed, and to turn them into Re&s;olutions, to confirm and &s;trengthen them, as our Mercies are perfected. <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 23.6. From the experience that <HI>David</HI> had of the Mercy and Good|ne&s;s of God, he takes up a re&s;olu|tion to follow God as long as he lived; he determines to &s;tick clo&s;e to God in his pro&s;perity, who &s;tuck to him in his affliction.</P>
<P><HI>Thirdly,</HI> There will be an en|quiry after work and &s;ervice for God, how he may be &s;erviceable in his generation. He is not &s;atis|fied with general &s;ervice neither, but is ready to enquire, Whether God hath any particular &s;ervice for him to do in the World, un|to which he hath pre&s;erved him. God had a peculiar Work to em|ploy <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> in; therefore he won|derfully pre&s;erved him in that time of common Calamity, and brought
<PB N="74" REF="43"> him up in <HI>Pharoah</HI>'s Court. And when a man that under&s;tands God's wayes and ends, meets with &s;in|gular pre&s;ervations, he is ready to ask, What hath God to do for me in the World, that he thus pre&s;erves me, when many others are taken away? and he labours to find out that Work, if there be any &s;uch.</P>
<P>This is certain, that God doth nothing in vain; he &s;till propo&s;eth an end to him&s;elf, and his ends are the promoting his own glory and intere&s;t in the World: And doubtle&s;s his peculiar Works have peculiar Ends: And commonly, what God chiefly intends, that he &s;ets upon our hearts to &s;eek af|ter, or to comply with when it is offered unto us; as we &s;ee in <HI>Mo|&s;es,</HI> God had pre&s;erved him for the deliverance of his people out of <HI>E|gypt:</HI> And &s;ee how it was upon his heart before ever the Lord appear|ed
<PB N="75" REF="43"> to him, <HI>Exod.</HI> 2.12. Nothing doth more be&s;peak our lives to be given us in Mercy, than when we value our Lives by our Work; when we can &s;ay with <HI>Paul, To me to live is Chri&s;t.</HI> I know no|thing worth a living for, but Chri&s;t; I am re&s;olved while I live, to labour for him, and to apply my &s;elf to that peculiar Work to which he hath appointed me, and for which he hath &s;o often pre&s;erv|ed me.</P>
<P><HI>Fourthly,</HI> A holy confidence in God for time to come; a dependance on him, and re&s;olution to tru&s;t in him in all the &s;traits that we &s;hall meet withall. Faith grows &s;tronger by all the an&s;wers and rerurns of prayer: If God give in any thing as a mercy, by &s;pecial pre&s;ervati|on, it fortifies the &s;oul again&s;t doubts and difficulties for time to come, and a man is able then to rea|&s;on from experience, as <HI>Paul</HI> does,
<PB N="76" REF="44" MS="y"> 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 1.9, 10. <HI>We had the &s;entence of death in our &s;elves, that we might not tru&s;t in our &s;elves, but in God which rai&s;eth the dead, who delivered us from &s;o great a death, and doth deliver, in whom we tru&s;t that he will deliver.</HI> By the&s;e and &s;uch like Experiences you &s;hall be a&s;&s;ured that your pre&s;ervations are the fruit of Divine Love, and that there was more then a common Pro|vidence in your &s;afety. You are the &s;aved of the Lord, and happy upon this account. But if the work|ings of thy heart have been contra|ry to the&s;e, &s;u&s;pend thy joy, thou ha&s;t le&s;s cau&s;e than thou art aware of, to rejoice in thy pre&s;ervation from this wa&s;ting Judgment. It may be but a re&s;ervation for &s;ome greater evil. But you will &s;ay, Can there be a wor&s;e Evil than this? I tell thee, Yes; Perhaps God may re&s;erve thee for &s;ome judgment that may take thee away when
<PB N="77" REF="44"> thou art le&s;s aware of it; Nay, if God only &s;uffer thee to live and to be vile and prophane after &s;uch a deliverance, to abu&s;e his patience and long &s;uffering, and fill up the mea&s;ure of thy &s;ins: This will be a greater judgment then the Pe&s;ti|lence which thou ha&s;t e&s;caped. The Apo&s;tle &s;peaks to &s;uch an one as thou art, <HI>Rom.</HI> 2.4. De&s;pi&s;e&s;t thou the riches of his goodne&s;s and forbearance, and long &s;uffe|ring, not knowing that the good|ne&s;s of God leadeth thee to repen|tance? Mark what is the i&s;&s;ue of &s;uch a frame as this is. <HI>ver.</HI> 3. <HI>But after thine hard and impenitent heart, trea&s;ure&s;t up wrath again&s;t the day of wrath.</HI> It had been better for thee that thou had&s;t been taken a|way and &s;ent to hell long ago, then thou &s;hould&s;t live to trea&s;ure up more wrath, again&s;t that day of wrath, and to make thy eternal condition &s;o much the more intol|lerable
<PB N="78" REF="45"> Let me therefore per&s;wade thee to look back again and again, how it hath been with thee under this dreadful vi&s;itation; and con&s;i|der thy &s;elf, how hath it left thee? Did it find thee &s;tupid and in&s;en&s;ible of danger as many have been? or timerous? if &s;o, Whether did thy fears drive thee only to the Phy&s;iti|an, to their directions for thy &s;ecu|rity, and not unto God? And now the danger is &s;omething blown o|ver, thou art left as vain, as unfruit|ful, yea as prophane as before; thou &s;ay&s;t in effect as they did, <HI>Jer.</HI> 7.10. <HI>We are delivered to do all the&s;e abomi|nations.</HI> If this be thy ca&s;e, thou art ami&s;erable man or woman; thou art none of tho&s;e whom <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> magni|fies in this place, whom he admires as a happy people. And if thou be|lieve&s;t this to be a truth, &s;tir up thy &s;elf to &s;eek after an intere&s;t in this divine providence: Labour for a life &s;uitable to a &s;aved one, then
<PB N="79" REF="45"> &s;halt thou indeed have cau&s;e to re|joyce in thy deliverance; for the good of providence is not &s;een by the vi&s;ible effects of it, but is legi|ble in the hearts and lives of the &s;aved.</P>
<P>The U&s;e that you &s;hould make of this truth, all you that are under the&s;e gracious impre&s;&s;ions of provi|dence, or &s;incerely labouring after them, &s;hould be,</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, Look upon your mercies as they are, be &s;ure to acknowledg God in all that you have, and enjoy; give him the glory of his goodne&s;s and truth, take your lives out of his hand, and &s;ay, it is the Lord that hath &s;aved me alive this day; <HI>Set up your Eben-Ezer, hitherto the Lord hath helped me:</HI> Call nothing common that you have, though your lives and pre&s;ervations may &s;eem common mercies, becau&s;e ma|ny have been pre&s;erved as well as
<PB N="80" REF="46"> you; yet, if you con&s;ider what hath been &s;aid, you will find cau&s;e to account your lives &s;ingular and &s;pe|cial mercies, becau&s;e there is more in them than there is in others; you have been pre&s;erved by a gracious providence; whereas others have e|&s;caped by a general providence; you have been &s;aved in mercy; whereas others have been re&s;erved in judgment. Nothing will conduce more to the quickning of your &s;pi|rits, and to rai&s;e them up to live like your &s;elves, than a true e&s;timate of your mercies; for this will make you &s;en&s;ible of your engagements; and the&s;e con&s;idered, will quicken you to your duties.</P>
<P><HI>Secondly, Love God.</HI> There is nothing more natural than this, that we &s;hall love tho&s;e who love us, and take the mo&s;t care of us in our greate&s;t dangers. This is that which <HI>David</HI> urges upon all the people of God, not onely to love him every
<PB N="81" REF="46" MS="y"> one for the care that God hath of him, but every one to love him for the care that he hath of all the faithful. <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 31.23. <HI>Oh love ye the Lord, all ye his Saints, for the Lord pre&s;erveth the faithful.</HI> And let it &s;eem but a rea&s;onable thing to you, to grant <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 span"> God a peculiar intere&s;t in your hearts and lives, who have a &s;pecial intere&s;t in his pro|vidence.</P>
<P><HI>Thirdly,</HI> Be careful to pay your vows that you have made to the Lord in the time of danger. Con|&s;ider as well the duties which &s;pring out of your promi&s;es made to God, as tho&s;e which ari&s;e out of his providence towards you, and make con&s;cience of both. Time was, when you valued your lives and the lives of your relations at a great rate; you offered freely and large|ly for your &s;elves and them when trouble was near; O do not under|value them now; think that enjoy|ment
<PB N="82" REF="47" MS="y"> of them now, to be as much worth as ever you did e&s;teem them; Seeing God has taken you at your word, and has given you what you de|&s;ired, be &s;ure you make your word good, and give him what you pro|mi&s;ed.</P>
<P><HI>Fourthly</HI> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 span">, Be of good courage, &s;trengthen your &s;elves in God, from the experience that you have had of his goodne&s;s and truth; and live in a con&s;tant dependance up|on him, and hope in him for the time to come; that will be an evi|dence, that you believe this truth; and it will be an honouring of Gods providence.</P>
<P>Nothing can be more rationally deduced from this truth, than a comfortable reliance upon God; It is the inference of the Holy Gho&s;t from the Premi&s;es, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 31.24. When he had a&s;&s;erted the Providence of God over his people, in the&s;e Words <HI>(The Lord
<PB N="83" REF="47" MS="y"> pre&s;erveth the Faithful)</HI> He ex|horts or infers this, <HI>Be of good courage, and he &s;hall &s;trengthen your hearts, all ye that hope in the Lord.</HI></P>
<P><HI>La&s;t of all,</HI> This truth &s;peaks to every man after this manner. You &s;ee nothing can make a man happy which cannot render him &s;afe, a great part of our happine&s;s in this life lying in a freedom from evil, rather than in the enjoyment of good, which <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 word"> the happine&s;s of the life to come. And there is no|thing &s;o much contributes to our &s;afety, as an intere&s;t in Divine pro|vidence: Can riches, honours, art, intere&s;t in men, &s;ay thus to thee, and make it good, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 91.5.6. <HI>Thou &s;halt not be afraid of the terrour by night, nor for the arrow that flyeth by day, nor for the Pe|&s;tilence that walketh in darkne&s;s, nor for the de&s;truction that walketh at noon-day.</HI></P>
<PB N="84" REF="48">
<P>But God can &s;peak thus to thy &s;oul, and cau&s;e thee to walk with|out fear in the valley of the &s;haddow of death.</P>
<P>Make ha&s;t then, and intere&s;t thy &s;elf in God, and improve this by Faith and prayer; it is the be&s;t pre|&s;ervative thou can&s;t provide for thy &s;elf and Family. <HI>Prov.</HI> 18.10. <HI>The name of the Lord is a &s;trong Tower, the righteous runneth into it, and is</HI> Safe. Nay here is &s;helter for <HI>Thine</HI> as well as <HI>Thee.</HI> Prov. 14 26. <HI>In the fear of the Lord is &s;trong confi|dence, and his</HI> Children <HI>&s;hall have a place of</HI> Refuge. Would'&s;t thou be good to thy &s;elf and to thy Family, make God thine, <HI>That thou maye&s;t dwell in the &s;ecret of the Lord and abide under the &s;haddow of the Almighty.</HI> And time and ex|perience will confirm thee in this truth, that they are &s;afe whom God keeps, and happy whom he &s;aves;
<PB N="85" REF="48"> and with <HI>David</HI> thou wilt con|clude, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 144. ver&s;e 15. <HI>Hap|py is that people that is in &s;uch a ca&s;e; Yea happy is that peo|ple who&s;e God is the Lord.</HI></P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
<PB REF="49">
<PB REF="49">
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
