The First Divine Maxime or Conclusion, is this, Viz.

Deut. 32 39 Hyppocra­tes calls it, [...], The Divine Disease, be­cause it comes more im­mediately from God, than other diseases do. SO the Lord sent a Pesti­lence upon Israel, from the morning even to the time appointed; and there died of the people from Dan even to Beersheba, seventy thousand men. Numb. 16. 46. Wrath is gone out [Page 2] from the Lord, the Plague is begun. Numb. 14. 12. I will smite them with the Pestilence, and disinherit them. Deut. 28. 21. The Lord shall make the Pestilence cleave unto thee, until he hath consumed thee from off the Land whither thou goest to possess it. Ezek. 14. 19. Or if I send a Pestilence into that Land, and pour out my fury upon it in blood, to cut off from it man and beast. Verse 21. For thus saith the Lord God, how much more, when I send my four sore judgements upon Je­rusalem, the sword, and the famine, and the noisome beast, and the pesti­lence, to cut off from it man and beast. Amos 4 10. I have sent among you the pestilence after the manner of E­gypt. Hence 'tis called, Gods Arrow, Psal. 91. 5. and when God shoots these arrows into Kingdoms, Ci­ties, Towns, Families, none can Psal. 38. 2. pull them out but God himself. The Plague is more immediately from God, than any other Sick­nesse or Disease is; for it is the im­mediate stroke of God. The Scribe is more properly said to [Page 3] write, than the pen; and he that maketh and keepeth the Clock, is more properly said to make it go and strike, than the wheels and poizes that hang upon it: and eve­ry Workman to effect his work, rather than the tools which he u­seth as instruments. So the Lord of Hosts, who is the chief Agent and Mover in all things, and in all actions, may more fitly and pro­perly be said to effect and bring to pass all Judgements, yea, all things which are done in the Earth, than any inferiour or subordinate cau­ses; seeing they are but his tools and instruments, which he rules and guides according to his own Will, Power, and Providence. I know some Physitians ascribe it to the heat of the Air, and sometimes to the driness of the Air, and some­times to the corruption of the Air, & sometimes to the corruption of mens blood, & sometimes to Satan, and sometimes to the malignancy of the Planets; but certainly those are Physitians of no value, that [Page 4] cannot look above second causes, to the First Cause, that cannot look to the wheel within the wheel. The Ezek. 1. Plague is a hidden thing, a secret thing; it is a sickness, a disease, that more immediately comes from God, than any other sick­ness or disease doth. Behold the hand Exod. 9. 3. of the Lord is upon thy cattel which is in the field, upon the horses, upon the asses, upon the camels, upon the oxen, and upon the sheep, there shall be a very grievous murrain. The word here translated murrain, is in chap. 5. v. 3. termed pestilence; and it is one and the same disease, though when it is applied to cattel, it be usually rendred by murrain, yet when 'tis applied to men, as in the Scripture last cited, it is common­ly called the pestilence. Behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thy cattel, &c. That is, the extraordinary imme­diate power and work of God, without the intervening of any se­cond cause or humane operation. This open plague, this plague without doors, that principally [Page 5] fell upon the cattel, was from the immediate hand of God. 'Tis God alone that singles out the Na­tion, the City, the Town, the Pa­rish, the Family, the Person, that he will strike with the plague; for all second causes are ordered by the first cause, as every instru­ment is ruled or over-ruled by the will and hand of him that hold­eth it. When a man goes with his Axe to cut down Trees in the Wood, there is an equal aptness in the Axe to cut down one Tree as well as another, an Oake as well as an Ash, &c. but it is still ruled by the will of him that han­dles it. So 'tis here, the noisome pestilence, or the pestilence of griefs (as the Hebrew runs in that Psal. 91. 3.) hath an equal aptness to cut down one man as well as another, the rich as well as the poor, the honourable as well as the base, the strong as well as the weak, the Prince as well as the peasant, the Emperour as well as the Carter; but it is still over-rul'd [Page 6] by the Lord himself, who gives it a Commission to cut off such and such in this Kingdom, and that in this City, and that in this Town, and that in this Family; and that to spare, save, and passe by all the rest. In Rev. 6. you shall read of four horses when the four seals were opened, 1. A white horse. 2. A red horse. 3. A black horse. 4. A pale horse. After Christ had ridden upon the white horse pro­pagating the Gospel, then follows the red horse, a Type of War; then the black horse, an hierogly­phick of Famine; and then the pale horse, the emblem of Pesti­lence. Now all these horses, these plagues, were of Christs sending. From those words Judges 3. 20. I have a message from God unto thee, O King, said Ehud. Lo, his ponyard was Gods message; from whence one well observeth, That not on­ly Isa. 26. 8, 9, 10. the vocal admonitions, but the real judgements of God, are his errands and instructions to the world. 'Twas a mad principle a­mong [Page 7] the Manichees, who referred all the judgments, calamities, and miseries that came upon them to the Devil for their Author; as if there could be any evil in the Amos 3. 6. City, and the Lord have no hand in it. Now in that 'tis the Lord a­lone that sends the pestilence a­mongst a people, how should this comfort us, and quiet us! how should this cool us, and calm us! how should this satisfie us, and si­lence us before the Lord, and cause us to lay our hands upon our mouths, as David did, Psal. 39. 9. and as Aaron did, Lev. 10. 1, 2, 3. and as Ely did, 1 Sam. 3. 18. and as the Church did, Lament. 3. 26, 27, 28, 29.

Solinus writeth of Hypanis a Scy­thian Cap. 20. River, that the water there­of is very bitter, as it passeth tho­row Exampius, yet very sweet in the spring. So the cup of trembling which is this day offered to the children of God, is often very bit­ter at the second hand, or as it ap­pears in second causes; and yet it [Page 8] is sweet at the first hand, yea, it is very sweet, as it is reacht to them by a hand from heaven: and therefore they may well say (as their Head and Husband hath done before them) Shall we not drink of the Cup that our Father hath given us to drink of, &c.

The Second Divine Maxime or 2 Conclusion, is this, Viz.

Hence it comes to pass, that God shoots his arrows of Pesti­lence into one City, and not into another; into one Town, and not into another; into one Fami­ly, and not into another; into one Kingdome and Countrey, and not into another. Exod. 8. 20, 21, 22, 23. and Exod. 9. 22, 23, 24, 25, 26. 2 Sam. 24. 15. Turn to all these Scriptures, and ponder upon them.

The Third Divine Maxime or 3 Conclusion, is this, Viz.

And therefore such and such must fall, when such and such must escape; and such and such must be infected, when such and such are preserved: Hence 'tis that one is taken in the Bed, and the other left; one smitten at the Table, or in the House, and all the rest preserved in perfect health, &c. God hath numbred so many to the sword, and so many to the famine, and so many to the pe­stilence; so many to this disease, and so many to that; 2 Sam. 24. 15, 16. Ezek. 11. 5, 6, 7. Ezek. 5. 12. Ezek. 6. 11, 12. Exod. 12. 13. Psal. 91. from vers. 3. to v. 9. Isa. 65. 12. Jer. 15. 2. Ezek. 33. 27. Turn to all these Scriptures, and ponder upon them. God marks [Page 10] out those persons, that he intends to shoot the arrow of pestilence a­mongst. God never shoots at ro­vers, he never draws his bow at a venture, but he singles out the persons that he purposes to hit, and his arrows flie swiftly and suddenly, yet they hit none but those that God hath set up as a mark to shoot at, as Job speaks.

The Fourth Divine Maxime or 4 Conclusion, is this, Viz.

In time of great judgements God sometimes spares those whom his soul hates and abhors, Isa. 1. 5. Hos. 4. 14, 17. God some­times preserves wicked men from great judgements, that they may fall by greater judgements; as you may see in Sodom and her sisters, [Page 11] which were preserved from the slaughter of the four Kings, that God might rain down Hell out of Heaven upon them. And so Senna­cherib escapes the stroke of the destroying Angel, that he might fall by the sword of his own sons, Isa. 37. 37, 38. And as in times of great judgements, God some­times spares those sinners that his soul hates, so in times of great judgements God takes away those whom his soul dearly loves, 2 Cor. 34. 27, 28. Turn to it. In all the con­siderable plagues that have been in this Nation, how many precious Christians have fallen by the sword, and by the hand of the destroying Angel; when many thousands of Balaks and Balaams, I mean the worst of men, have escaped the sword, the plague, &c. And is there any thing more obvious and notorious this day, than this? sure­ly not.

The Fifth Divine Maxime or 5 Conclusion, is this, Viz.

And thus good Josiah was slain in battel; yet because he lived not to see the woful miseries of suc­ceeding times, he is said to go to his grave in peace, 2 Chron. 34. 27, 28. Turn to it. Henoch lived long in a little time, and God took him to heaven before he brought a sweeping Flood upon the world; but he fore seeing the Flood, na­med his son Methuselah, that is to say, He dyeth, and the dart (or flood cometh) and so it fell out; for no sooner was his head laid, [Page 13] but in came the Flood. And so Augustine was taken out of the world, before Hyppo was taken by the Vandals. And so Paraus was gotten to his better Countrey, be­fore Heidelbergh and the Palatinate was delivered into the power of the enemies. Ambrose is said to have been the Walls of Italy, and when he died, the Earl Stilico said, That his death did threaten destruction to that Countrey. And when Luther was laid in his grave, then trou­bles, wars, desolations, and con­fusions, came in upon Germany like a flood. The righteous are taken away Isa. 57. 1. from the evil to come, and their death is a sad presage of sore and signal calamities that are hastening upon the world. Of late many preci­ous servants of Christ are fallen a­sleep; but who knows what a day of wrath is coming? When a man cuts down his chiefest timber-trees, it is an argument that he intends to part with his land; and how many tall Cedars in this our Leba­non, hath God lately cut down in [Page 14] the midst of us: Therefore we have eminent cause to be impor­tunate with God, that he would neither part with this Nation, nor depart from this Nation. When some fatal judgement hovers like a flying fiery scrole over a Nation, God many times gathers many of his choice servants unto himself, that he may preserve them from the evil to come.

The Sixth Divine Maxime or 6 Conclusion, is this, Viz.

However his hand may be a­gainst them, yet his love, his heart, his favour, his affections in Jesus, is still one and the same to them, Isa. 54. 7, 8, 9, 10. Isa. 49. 14, 15, 16. Psal. 89. 31, 32, 33, 34. Jer. 31. 3 [...] 35, 36, 37. compared. Malach. 3. 6. John 13. 3. James 1. 17. [Page 15] Ponder seriously upon all these Scriptures. So when God sent the plague upon Davids people, and that for Davids sin too, yet how sweetly, how lovingly, how ten­derly, how compassionately, how indulgently, doth the Lord carry it towards David himself! 2 Sam. 24. 11, 12, 13, 18, 19, 25. compared. And some learned men are of o­pinion, that Lazarus died of the Plague, and yet the Text tells us that he was carried by Angels into Abrahams bosome. Oecolampadius and many other worthies also died of it. When Munster lay sick, and his friends asked him how he did, and how he felt himself? he pointed to his sores and ulcers, (whereof he was full) and said, These are Gods Gems and Jewels, where­with he docketh his best friends: and to me they are more precious than all the gold and silver in the world. Gods dear love to his people, is not foun­ded upon any thing in his people, nor upon any thing that is done by his people, but only upon his [Page 16] own free grace and goodness, Deut. 7. 7, 8.

The Ethnicks feign that their Gods and Goddesses loved certain Trees, for some lovely good that was in them, as Jupiter the Oak for durance, Neptune the Cedar for stature, Apollo the Lawrel for greenness, Venus the Poplar for whiteness, Pallas the Vine for fruitfulness. But what should move the God of Gods, and the Lord of Lords to love us, who are poor worthless fruitless Trees, Ezek. 16. twice dead, and pluckt up by the roots? This question is best resol­ved in three words, Amat quia a­mat, he loves us because he loves us. The root of his love to us lieth in himself, and by his com­municative goodness the fruit is ours. Gods love to his people is a Jer. 31. 3. 35, 36, 37. lasting love, yea an everlasting love, 'tis a love that never decayes nor waxes cold; 'tis like the stone Albestos, of which Solinus writes, that being once hot, it can never be cooled again.

The Seventh Divine Maxime 7 or Conclusion, is this, viz.

.

The Eighth Divine Maxime 8 or Conclusion, is this, viz.

.

The Ninth Divine Maxime or Conclusion, is this, viz. 9

And this I shall make evident by an induction of Ten particulars.

First, They are the only people 1 in all the World that are under divine Promises of protection and preservation, Exod. 15. 26. Job 5. 20, 21. Isa. 4. 5, 6. Isa. 8. 13, 14. Isa. 26. 20, 21. Isa. 31. 5. Isa. 32. 1, 2. Psal. 91. throughout. Turn to these sweet promises, and re­member, [Page 19] that there are no men on earth that can or may lay their hands on these precious promises, and say, these promises are mine, but only the godly man. These Promises are Gods Bonds, which the godly man may put in suit, and urge God with, and plead hard in prayer, which no other men Sirtorious, as Plutarch observes, paid what he promi­sed with fair words as Courti­ers use to do: but so doth not God. Men often eat their words; but God will never eat his; hath he spoken, and shall it not come to pass? Josh. 23. 14. Ezek 12. 25. Ch. 24. 14. may. The Promises of God are a Christians Magna Charta, his chief Evidences that he hath to shew for his preservation, for his protection, for his salvation. Divine Promi­ses are Gods deed of gift, they are the only Assurance which the Saints have to shew for their right and Title to Christ, to Heaven, and to all the glory and happiness of another world. O how highly do men prize their Charters and Pri­viledges! and how carefully do they keep and lay up the Convey­ances and Assurances of their Lands! Oh how should Saints then treasure up those precious Promises, which are to them in­stead of all Conveyances and As­surances [Page 20] for their preservation, protection, maintenance, delive­rance, comfort, and everlasting happiness. The Promises are a Mine of rich treasuries, they are a Garden full of the choycest and sweetest flowers of Paradise; in them are wrapt up all celestial contentments and enjoyments: and therefore study them more than ever, and prize them more than ever, and improve them more than ever.

Secondly, If you consider their 2 near and dear Relations to God: They are his servants, his friends, his children, his members, his Spouse, &c. By all which 'tis evi­dent, that they stand upon the ad­vantage ground, for preservation and protection, above all others in the world.

Thirdly, If you consider that high value, and esteem, and price, 3 that the Lord puts upon them: He esteems them as the apple of his eye, Zech. 2. 8. He accounts them as his Jewels, Mal. 3. 17. [Page 21] He prizes them as his portion, Deut. 32. 9. yea, as his pleasant portion, Jer. 12. 10. He accounts them his Crown, yea, his Crown of Glory, and his Royal Diadem, Isa. 62. 3. Thou (speaking of his Church) shalt also be a Crown of Glory in the hand of the Lord, and a Royal Diadem in the hand of thy God. Yea, he pri­zes one Saint above all the world, Heb. 11. 38. By all which 'tis most evident that they stand upon the advantage ground, as to their pre­servation and protection, above all other people in the world; for God accounts all the world besides to be but as dirt, as dust, as chaff, as thorns and bryars, that are only fit to be cast into the fire to be con­sumed and destroy'd. When Pearls grew common at Rome they began to be slighted: But Saints are such Pearls of price, that God will ne­ver slight.

Fourthly, If you consider that they are the only people in the 4 world that are in Covenant with God, Psal. 89. 30, 31, 32, 33, 34. [Page 22] Jer. 32. 38, 39, 40. Ezek. 20. 37. Deut. 29. 12. Jer. 31. 31, 32, 33, 34. Heb. 8. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12. Some do derive the word Berith (which signifies the Covenant) from a Root which signifies to purifie, to separate, and to select: And verily, when the Lord makes a Covenant with any, he doth separate them from others, he honours them a­bove all others, and he looks on them and owns them for his pecu­liar people, and delights in them as the chosen and choycest of all others. The whole world lyes in wick­edness, John 1. 5. 19. By this also 'tis evident, that the people of God stand upon the advantage ground for their preservation and prote­ction above all others in the world.

Fifthly, If you consider the com­mon carriage and deportment of God towards his people in former times of calamities and great Judg­ments. Did he not provide an Ark for righteous Noah, so that Noah was safer in his Ark of three Sto­ries [Page 23] high, than Nimrod and his crew were in their Tower of Babel, rais­ed to the height of five thousand Heyl. Cosm. l. 3. one hundred fourty six paces, as is reported. And did he not provide a Zoar for righteous Lot. Hesiod speaks of thirty thousand Demy­gods that were keepers of men. But what are so many thousand gods to that one God that neither Psal. 121. 3, 4, 5. Isa. 27. 3. slumbers nor sleeps, but day and night keeps his people as his Jewels, as the apple of his eye, that keep­eth them in his pavilion, as a Psal. 31. 20. Prince keeps his Favourite. Prin­ces have their retiring rooms and withdrawing Chambers, which are sacred places; and so hath God his, and there he shelters the Fa­vourites of Heaven. Gods gracious Providence is his golden Cabinet, where his children are as safe as if they were in Heaven. See Isa. 49. 2. Isa. 26. 20, 21. Jer. 36. 26. Psal. 83. 3. They have consulted a­gainst thy hidden ones, hidden under the hollow of thy hand, and under the shadow of thy wing, and there­fore [Page 24] safe from dangers in the midst of dangers, Jer. 39. 16, 17, 18. How wonderfully did he preserve the three children (or rather the three Non-conformable Champi­ons) from burning in the midst of the flames, Dan. 3. and Daniel from being devoured in the Lyons Den, Dan. 6. And so Gods mourn­ing ones were his marked ones, and his saved and preserved ones, when the destroying Angel slew old and young, &c. Ezek. 9. 4, 6. And reverend Beza and his Family was four several times visited with the Plague, and yet as often pre­served as they were visited; and this good man was very much re­freshed and comforted under that and other sore afflictions that be­fell him, by that Psal. 91. which made him the more highly to prize it, and the more dearly to hugg it all his dayes, as himself witnesseth in his Writings on this Psalm. There is a Dialogue be­tween an Heathen and a Jew after the Jewes return from captivity, [Page 25] (all Nations round about them be­ing enemies to them) The Hea­then asked the Jew, How he and his Countreymen could hope for any safe­ty, because (saith he) every one of you is a silly sheep, compassed about with fif­ty wolves? I but, saith the Jew, we are kept by such a Shepheard, as can kill all those wolves when he pleaseth. Now by all this also 'tis evident, that the people of God stand upon the advantage ground, as to their preservation and protection above all other people in the world.

Sixthly, If you consider the 6 life-guard of the Saints, the mini­stry Gen. 32. 1, 2 Dan. 6. 21, 22. Acts 12. 11, 15. Acts 27. 23 2 Kings 6. 14, 15, 16, 17. Acts 5. 18. of the blessed Angels that al­wayes attends them, Psal. 91. 11. For he shall give his Angels charge o­ver thee, to keep thee in all thy wayes. vers. 12. They shall bear thee up in their hands, least thou dash thy foot against a stone. Psal. 37. 7. The An­gels of the Lord encampeth round a­bout them that fear him, and delivereth them. Matth. 18. 10. Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, that in heaven their An­gels [Page 27] do alwayes behold the face of my Father which is in Heaven. Heb. 1. The Hea­thens had some blind notions concern­ing the Angels and their ministry, as may be seen in the writings of Plato, Plutarch. Hesiod the Greek Po­et could say that there were thir­ty thou­sands of them here on Earth, keepers of mortal men, and observers of their works. 14. Are they not all ministring spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation. The world may deprive us of many outward comforts, but they can never de­prive us of the ministry of the Angels. When the servants of God are hated by men, persecu­ted by men, and forsaken of men, yet they are then visited and atten­ded by Angels. Princes have their guards, but what poor, what weak, what contemptible guards are theirs, to those legions of An­gels that daily guard the Saints! When men can clip the wings of Angels, and imprison or pinion these heavenly souldiers, then and not till then, shall they be able to have their wills upon the poor people of God. Oh the honour, the dignity, the safety and security of the Saints, in a life guard so full of state and strength! Well may we say, Come taste and see how gracious the Lord is, in affording [Page 26] his children so glorious an atten­dance. Now by this argument as well as the rest, 'tis evident, that the people of God stand upon the ad­vantage ground as to their out­ward preservation and protecti­on, above all other people in the world.

Seventhly, If you consider that 7 they are the onely people that do Deut. 4. 6, 7, 8, 9. Joh. 4. 23, 24. bear up the name and glory of God in the world; they are the onely people that worship God in spirit and in truth, and from such worshippers 'tis that God hath the incomes of his glory. The holy hearts, the holy lives, the holy ex­amples, the holy wayes, the holy walkings, and the holy worship that is performed by the Saints, are the springs from whence all di­vine honour rises to the Lord in this world. The people of God are Deut. 26. 17. 18. Psal. 116. 16. Psal. 22. 30 the onely people in the world that have chosen him for their God, and that have given themselves up to his service, and thus they ho­nour his goodness. The people of [Page 28] God are the onely people in the Gen. 24 12 Psal. 48. 14. world who in the times of their fears, doubts, darknesses, di­stresses, straits, trials, dangers, &c. do consult with God as their great Counsellour, as their onely Counsellour; and thus they ho­nour his admirable wisdom, and infinite knowledge. The people of God are the onely people in the world, that do make God their refuge, their strong tower, their Psal. 46. 1, 7, 11. Prov. 18. 10. Psal. 32. 7. Psal. 119. 114. Psal. 20. 7. shelter, their hiding place in stor­my and tempestuous dayes; and thus they honour the Power, All­sufficiency, Soveraignty, and Au­thority of God. Wicked men trust in their Chariots and Hor­ses, and Armies, and Navies, and Revenues, and Carnal Policies, and sinful shifts, devices, and ferches; when the poor people of God do not dare to trust in their swords, nor in their bows, nor in their wealth, nor in their wit, nor in their friends, nor in any arm of flesh, or carnal refuges, but in the Lord alone; for in the Lord Jeho­vah Isa. 26. 3, 4. [Page 29] is everlasting strength. The people of God are the onely people in the world that do give God the supremacy in their hearts, that do set up God and Christ Psal. 73. 25, 26. Phil. 3. 6, 7 8, 9. Rev. 4. 10, 11. above themselves, and above all their duties, services, privi­ledges, graces, comforts, com­munions, spiritual enjoyments, and worldly contentments; and thus they honour all the excellencies and perfections of God at once. And do you think that God will not have a special care of such, that are the onely promoters of his honour and glory in this world? Doubtless he will. Now by this argument 'tis further evident, that the people of God do stand upon the advantage ground, as to their outward pre­servation and protection, above all other people in the world.

Eighthly, If you do but seriously 8 consider what a mighty interest the people of God have in the Grand Favourite of Heaven, viz. The Lord John 1. 18. Heb. 7. 25. 1 John 2. 1, 2. Jesus, who lies in the bosome of the Father, and who is so near and [Page 30] dear unto him, and so potent and prevalent with him, that he can do what he pleaseth with the Father, and have what he will of the Fa­ther. Now look what interest the wife hath in the husband, the child in the father, the members in the head, the subject in his Prince, the servant in his Lord, the branches in the root, the building in the foun­dation, that the believer hath in Christ, and much more. Christ is not like the Bramble, that receives good but yields none; but he is like the Fig-tree, the Vine, the Olive. All that are interested in him, that pertain to him, are the better for him; they all receive of his fulness John 1. 16. Col. 1. 19. grace for grace. Now, doubtless, all that interest that Jesus Christ hath in God the Father, he will improve to the utmost for their good, that have an interest in him. Now by this argument 'tis also evi­dent, that the people of God do stand upon the advantage ground above all others in the world, as to their outward preservation and protection.

Ninthly, If you consider Gods 9 tender and fatherly care of his people, and his singular indulgence towards them, of which you may read much in the blessed Scripture. Among the many choice Scrip­tures which might be produced, take these as a taste, Psal. 103. 13, 14. Like as a father pitieth his chil­dren, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him; for he knoweth our frame, he re­membreth that we are dust. There is an ocean of love and pity in the fathers heart towards his children; but 'tis but a drop to that which is in God. He hit the mark, that said, Tam pius nemo, tam pater nemo, No fa­ther Bernard. is like our father. God is Pater miserationum, he is all bowels. Let God carry it how he pleaseth to­wards us, yet we must still acknow­ledge that he is a propitious fa­ther, and say with him, Lord, thou Austin. art a father both when thou stroakest, and when thou strikest; thou strikest, that we may not perish, and thou stroak­est, that we may not faint. Pity is as essential to God, as light is to the [Page 32] Sun; or as heat is to the fire: Hence he is called the Father by an emi­nency, James 1. ult. as if they were no father to him, none like him, nor none besides him, as indeed there is not originally and properly. So Exod. 19. 4. Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on Ea­gles wings, and brought you unto my self. 'Tis an elegant expression, to set forth Gods admirable care over his people. The Eagle fears no bird from above to hurt her young, onely the arrow from be­neath; therefore she carries them upon her wings. Deut. 32. 9, 10, 11. The Lords portion is his people, Jacob is the lot of his inheritance; he found him in a desart land, and in the wast-howl­ing wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye. As an Eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings. vers. 12. So the Lord alone did lead him, and there was no strange God with him. The Eagle carries her young ones [Page 33] upon her wings (not in her tallons, for fear of hurting them) openly, safely, choicely, charily, speedily; and so did God his Israel, of whom he was exceeding choice and chary.

The care that God exercises to­wards his people, is,

1. An Extensive Care, a care that reaches, that extends it self to all the Saints, whether rich or poor, high or low, bond or free, &c. 2 Chron. 16. 9. Zech. 1. 10, 11.

2. 'Tis an Intentive Care. He cares for all, as if he had but one to care for, Zech. 1. 14.

3. 'Tis a Pleasant and Delight­ful Care, Isa. 31. 5. and not a wearying, tearing, tormenting care; 'tis such a pleasant care as an indul­gent father exercises towards a son, Mal. 3. 17. an onely son, a son that serves him.

4. 'Tis an Effectual Care, a Prosperous Care, a Successful Care, a Flourishing Care. Men many times rise early and go to bed late, and take a great deal of care at home and abroad, and all to no purpose; but the care of God is [Page 34] alwayes successful, Deut. 11. 12.

5. 'Tis a Singular Care, a Pecu­liar Care God cares more for them than he doth for all the world besides. The Fathers care over the Child is a peculiar care, and the Husbands care over the Wife is a peculiar care, and the Heads care over the Members is a peculiar care; and so is the Lords Zeph. 3. 6, 17, 18, 19, 20. Psal. 36. 6. Isa. 40. 31. care over his people a peculiar care. Gods general care extends to the whole Creation, but his spe­cial care centers in his Saints.

6. 'Tis a very Tender Care, Isa. 40. 11. He shall feed his flock like a shepheard, he shall gather the lambs with his arms, and carry them in his bosome, and shall gently lead those that are with young. Zech. 2. 8. He that toucheth you, toucheth the apple of his Ishon, of ish, is here called Bath the daugh­ter of the eye, be­cause it is as dear to a man as an only daughter. eye, or the little man that is in the eye, or the black of the eye, which is the tenderest piece of the tender­est part; to express the inexpressi­ble tenderness of Gods care and love towards his people.

7. 'Tis an Abiding Care, a La­sting Care, and not a transient care, a momentary care. Psal. 125. 1, 2. They that trust in the Lord, shall be as Mount Zion, which cannot be re­moved, but abideth for ever. As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about his people, from henceforth, even for ever. Jeru­salem was surrounded with many great high mountains which were a great safeguard to it against all winds and storms; such a shelter, such a safeguard, yea, and a better, Zech. 2. 5. will God be to mystical Mount Sion the Church, against all winds and storms of affliction or perse­cution, Psal. 121. 3, 4. He that keep­eth thee will not slumber: behold, he that keepeth Israel, shall neither slum­ber nor sleep. He repeats the pro­mise, and sets it forth with a be­hold, that it may stick the closer, and warm our hearts the better. The phrase is taken from Watch­men, who stand on the walls in time of war, to discover the ap­proaching enemies, and accord­ingly [Page 36] give warning: Now though they may be careless, treacherous, or sleepy, yet the Lord will be so far from sleeping, that he will not so much as slumber, no, he will not so much as fetch one wink of sleep. It hath been a tradition, that Oppianus. Plin. Hist. lib. 3. cap. 3. Lions sleep not; yet to think or say that they sleep not at all, were absurd; indeed their eye-lids being too little to cover their great eyes, they do sleep with their eyes some­what open and shining, which hath occasioned some to think that they sleep not at all. But sure I am, that the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, who is the Keeper of Is­rael, doth neither slumber nor sleep, he never shuts his eyes, but hath them alwayes open upon his people for good; he winks not so much as to the twinkling of an eye, he alwayes stands Cen­tinel for his peoples safety, Isa. 27. 2, 3. In that day sing ye unto her, a Vineyard of red wine; I the Lord do keep it, I will water it every moment, (or as the Hebrew runs, at moments, [Page 37] or by moments) lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day; that is, con­stantly, continually, without in­termission. And this constant care of God over his people, was signi­fied by those two Types, the Pil­lar Exod. 13. 21, 22. of Fire, and the Pillar of a Cloud, that left not Israel, till they were in the possession of the Land of Canaan, which was a Type of Heaven.

8. And lastly, 'Tis an Active It was a strange speech of Socrates a heathen, Since God is so careful for you (saith he) what need you be care­ful for any thing your selves? Care, a care that puts the Lord upon preserving his people, and protecting of his people, and ma­king provision for his people, and standing by his people, and plead­ing the cause of his people, and clearing the innocency of his peo­ple. God is above his people and beneath them, Deut. 33. 26, 27. He is under them and over them, Cant. 2. 6. He is before them and behind them, Exod. 33. 1, 2. Isa. 52. 12. Isa. 58. 8. God is in the front of his people, and God is in the reer of his people, he is on the right hand of his people, and he is [Page 38] on the left hand of his people, Psal. 16. 8. Psal. 121. 5. Psal. 118. 15, 16. Exod. 14. 22 (God made the waters as a wall on their right hand and on their left.) God is round about his people, Psal. 34. 7. Psal. 125. 1, 2. and in the midst of his people, Zech. 2. 5. Psal. 46. 5. God is in the midst of her, Isa. 12. 6. Oh how safe are they that are under such a glorious care! God is above his people and be­neath them, he is under them and over them, he is before them and behind them, he is in the front and in the rear, he is round about them, and in the midst of them. Now what doth all this speak out, but that the care of God towards his people is an active Care. If the Phylosopher could say, being in danger of Shipwrack in a light starry night, Surely I shall not perish, there are so many eyes of providence o­ver me. Oh then what may the Saints say! Now by this argument 'tis evident that the people of God stand upon the advantage ground, [Page 39] as to their outward preservation and protection above all other people in the world.

Tenthly and lastly, If you do 10 but consider Gods great anger and deep displeasure against those that afflict, oppose, or oppress his peo­ple. God sent his people into Baby­lon, and their enemies added to all their sorrows and sufferings, but will God put this up at their hands? No. Zech. 1. 15. And I am very sore displeased with the heathen that are at case, for I was but a little displeased, and they helped forward the affliction. I am very sorely displeased, &c. Or as Zeketseph, from Ket­seph, which properly signifies such anger as causeth soaming and froth­ing as the tumultu­ous water, tossed with the wind, Eccl. 6. 17. Zech. 1. 7. boyling or soam­ing anger; the word signifies, a servour, fierceness, or vehe­mency of anger. the Hebrew runs, I am in such a heat as causeth fuming and foaming, I am boiling hot, and even ready to draw upon them, and to cut them off from the Land of the Living. For the Original word here used, hath great affinity with another word that signifieth to cut down and to destroy, 2 Kings 6. 6. and import­eth an higher degree of displea­sure, a greater height of heat, than either anger or wrath, as may be [Page 40] seen in that signal gradation, Deut. 29. 28. The Lord rooted them out of their land, Beaph in anger, Ubeche­mah and in wrath, Ubeketseph and in great indignation. The last of these three is the word in the Text, and notes a higher degree of anger than the two former. So Mal. 1. 4. Whereas Edom saith, we are impove­rished, but we will return and build the desolate places: Thus saith the Lord of hosts, they shall build, but I will throw down, and they shall call them the bor­der of wickedness, and the people against whom the Lord hath indignation for ever. The Edomites were very great enemies to the Israelites, they stood looking on, laughing and rejoy­cing at Israels destruction; God saw this, and it greatly displeased him (he being highly sensible of the least indignity done to his peo­ple) and therefore he is resolved to pay them home in their own coyn, Obed. 8. to 19. verse. The very name and memory of the Edomites have long since been ex­tinct and blotted out from under [Page 41] heaven, they were a people of his wrath, Isa. 10. 6. and of his curse, See Deut. z5. 17, 18, 19. 1 Sam. 15. 1 Chron. 4. 42, 43. and com­pare them together. Isa. 34. 5. So Amalek was a bitter enemy to Gods Israel, but God ut­terly blots out his remembrance from under heaven; and laying his hand upon his Throne, he swears that he would have war with Amalek for ever, Exod. 17. 14, 16. Nahum 1. 2. God is jealous, and the Lord revengeth, the Lord reven­geth, and is furious; the Lord will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies. The people of God ought to rest satis­fied and assured, that God sees, and smiles, and looks and laughs at all the counsels and combinations of wicked men against his Son and Psal. 2. against his Saints; and when they have done their worst, the Counsel Prov. 19. 21. of the Lord shall stand, and Christ shall reign in the midst of his ene­mies; and that the stone cut out of the mountains without hands, shall bring down the golden Image with a vengeance, and make it Dan. 2. 35. like the chaffe of the Summer floor. [Page 42] Some write of Lions, that as they are mindful of courtesies received, (witness the Story of Androdus that fugitive servant of Rome) so they will be sure to revenge injuries done to them; they will prey on them that would make a prey of them. When Juba King of the Moors march'd through the De­sert of Africa, a young man of his Company wounded a Lion; but the year following, when Juba re­turned, the Lion again meets the Army, and from among them all singles out the man that hurt him, and tears him in pieces, suf­fering the rest to pass by in peace and safety. And thus the Lord Jesus, who is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, is alwayes ready to re­venge Rev. 5. 5. the cause of his people, and to take vengeance on all that have wounded his people, or made a prey of his people; as you may clearly and fully see in Ezekiel chap. 25. and 35. Now by this ar­gument, as well as by all the rest, 'tis evident, that the people of God [Page 43] stand upon the advantage ground, as to their outward preservation and protection, above all other people in the world.

Quest. But if this be so, How comes it to pass that in this time of great mortality, many of the pre­cious people of the Lord have been taken away, as well as others; the raging pestilence having carried many pious souls out of this world, of whom the world was Heb. 11. 38. not worthy? The Saint as well as the sinner, hath fallen by the hand of the destroying Angel; in this day we have seen that word made good, viz. That all things come a­like Eccl. 9. 2. to all: there is one event to the righteous and to the wicked, to the good, and to the clean and to the unclean, to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sa­crificeth not; as is the good, so is the sinner, and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath?

To this Question I shall give these eight short Answers.

First, God hath smitten some 1 good men of all perswasions, that [Page 44] none might be proud, secure, or censorious, and that all might take the alarme, and prepare to meet Amos 4. 10, 11, 12. their God, and that all may keep humble and tremble, because of his righteous judgements, Psal. 119. 120. My flesh trembleth for fear of thee, and I am afraid of thy judge­ments.

Secondly, The number of those 2 that feared the Lord that have been taken away by the pestilence, are but few, very few, if compared with the many thousands of others that never knew what 'twas to set up God as the main object of their fear, and that never knew experi­mentally what a changed nature, a sanctified frame of heart, an in­terest in Christ, or a title to hea­ven meant. Oh that we had not cause to fear that hell hath had a very large harvest within these few last moneths.

Thirdly, Sometimes Gods own 3 people sin with others, and there­fore they smart with others, when God takes the Rod into his own [Page 45] hand. Thus Moses and Aaron sin­ned Numb. 20. with others, and therefore their Carkases fell in the Wilder­ness as well as others. This may sometimes be the reason why some good men fall in a common calamity, but I dare not say that 'tis alwayes the reason why some good men fall in a common cala­mity. I believe there are several choice Christians that have been swept away in this day of the Lords wrath, who have not sinned with the wicked, though they have fal­len with the wicked. Many have fallen by this dispensation, who yet have kept their garments pure Revel. 3. 4. and clean, and are now walking with Christ in white. I do not think that those Saints that have died by the plague, were greater sinners than those that have esca­ped the plague; yea, I have several reasons to perswade me, that se­veral of those precious servants of the Lord that have died of the plague, had more grace in their hearts, and less sin in their lives, [Page 46] than many other Saints that have been pitied and spared in this day of the Lords anger, &c.

Fourthly, No godly man dies 4 in any common calamity, till his Job 5. 26. Rev. 11. 6, 7. Acts 13. 25, 36. glass be run, and his work done, and he prepared and fitted for ano­ther world: Job 14. 5. Seeing his dayes are determined, the number of his moneths are with thee; thou hast ap­pointed his bounds that he cannot pass. God hath set every man both his time and his task. In this Scripture as in a glasse you may see the true reason why some likely to live long, die soon, even whilest their bones are full of marrow, and their breasts are full of milk, and others that are more weak and in­firm, live long, yea very long; the reason is, because God hath set bounds to every mans life to a very day, I, to a very hour. vers. 14. All the dayes of my appointed time (or warfare) will I wait till my change come, i. e. till my death, Job calls death a change. Death is not an an­nihilation or extinction, but a mu­tation.

1. 'Tis the last change that we shall meet with till the resurrection.

2. 'Tis a lasting, yea, an everla­sting change; it puts every man in­to an eternal condition of happiness or misery.

3. 'Tis an universal change; and that, 1. In respect of per­sons, all must meet with it, 'tis ap­pointed for all men once to die. 2. In Heb. 9. 27. respect of the whole man body and soul. Death lodges the body in the grave, and puts the soul into heaven or hell.

4. 'Tis a different change, ac­cording to the quality of the per­son changed. 'Tis terrible to a sin­ner: For,

First, It will put a full period to all his outward mercies, comforts, 1 contentments and enjoyments. Sa­ladine Job 1. 21. a Turkish Emperour, the first of that Nation that conquered Je­rusalem, lying at the point of death, after many glorious victories com­manded that a white sheet should be born before him to his grave, upon the point of a spear, with [Page 48] this proclamation, These are the rich spoils which Saladine carrieth a­way with him: of all his triumphs and victories, of all the riches and realms that he had, now nothing at all is left him but this sheet.

Secondly, It will put a full pe­riod 2 to all his hopes. Now he shall never hope for mercy more, nor never hope for pardon more, nor never hope for heaven more.

Thirdly, It will put a full pe­riod 3 to all the means of grace. Now he shall never hear Sermon more, nor never read the Word more, nor never enjoy the pray­ers of the people of God more, nor never taste any of the dainties of Gods House more, &c.

Fourthly, It will put a full period 4 to the patience, forbearance, and long-suffering of God, Rom. 2. 4, 5.

Fifthly, It will put a full peri­od 5 to all the pleasures of sin. Now the sinner shall never have one merry day more. In Hell there is no singing but howling, no mu­sick but madness, no sporting but [Page 49] sighing, no dancing but wringing or hands and gnashing of teeth for evermore, &c.

Sixthly, It will put a full peri­od 6 to all gracious reprieves. The sinner in his life time hath had ma­ny a reprieve from many executi­ons of wrath and judgement; Oh but now he shall never have one reprieve more.

Seventhly, It will put a full 7 period to all the strivings of the Holy Spirit. Now the Spirit shall Gen. 6. 3. Rev. 3. 20. never strive with the sinner more, now Christ will never knock at the sinners door, at the sinners heart more, &c.

Eighthly and lastly, It will put 8 a full period to all gracious exam­ples. Now the sinner shall never cast his eye upon one gracious ex­ample more. The sinner in his life time hath had many gracious ex­amples before his eyes, which it may be at times have had an a­wakening, convincing, silenceing, and restraining power in them; Oh but now he shall never have his eye [Page 50] upon one pious example more. All hell will not afford one good example. In a word, now the sin­ner shall find by woful experience, that death will be an inlet to three dreadful things: 1. To judgement, Heb. 9. 27. 2. To an irreversible sentence of condemnation, Matth. 25. 41. 3. To endless, easeless, and remediless sufferings. Not many years since in the Town of Yar­mouth there was a young man, who being very weak, and nigh to the grave, and under the appre­hensions of the wrath of God, and supposing that he was presently going down to the Pit, to Hell, he cried out, O that God would spare me but two dayes, O that God would spare me but two dayes, O that God would spare me, but two dayes. This poor creature trembled at the very thoughts of wrath to come. O who can dwell with everlasting burn­ing? who can dwell with a devouring fire? Isa. 33. 14.

And as death is terrible to the sinner, so it is desirable, comfort­able [Page 51] and joyful to a Child of God. Cant. 8. ult. Luke 2. 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32. 2 Cor. 5. 1, 2, 4, 8. Phil. 1. 23. Rev. 22. 20 I desire death, saith Melancthon, that I may enjoy the desirable sight of Christ. And When will that blessed hour come? when shall I be dissolved? when shall I be with Christ? said holy Mr. Bolton, when he lay on his dying bed. Jewel was offended at one that in his sickness prayed for his life. One whom I knew well, a little before his death, after a sharp conflict, cryed out three times, Vi­ctory, Much more to this pur­pose you may find in my Saints Por­tion, and in my String of Pearls. Victory, Victory; he breathed out his soul & his Doxology together, Thanks be to God for Jesus Christ, and so conquered Satan in his last en­counter. The dying words of my young Lord Harrington were these, O my God, when shall I be with thee? Shall I die ever (saith Austin) yes, or shall I die at all? yes (sayes he) Lord, if ever, why not now? When Mo­destus the Emperours Lieutenant threatned to kill Basil, he answer­ed, If that be all, I fear not; yea, your Master cannot more pleasure me, than in sending of me unto my heavenly Fa­ther, to whom I now live, and to whom [Page 52] I desire to basten. Mr. Deering a lit­tle before his death, being raised up in his bed, and seeing the Sun shine, was desired to speak his mind, upon which he said, There is but one Sun that giveth light to the whole world, but one righteousness, one communion of saints; as concerning death, I see such joy of spirit, that if I should have pardon of life on the one side, and sentence of death on the other, I had rather chuse a thousand times to die than to live. So Mr. John Holland lying at the point of death, said, What brightness do I see? and being told it was the sun-shine, No, saith he, My Saviour shines: now farewel world, welcome heaven, the day-star from on high hath visited me. Preach at my funeral, God dealeth comfort­ably and familiarly with man; I feel his mercy, I see his majesty, whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell, God he knoweth, but I see things that are unutterable. Mr. Knox found so much comfort from the Scriptures upon his death-bed, that he would have risen, and have gone into the [Page 53] Pulpit, to tell others what he had felt in his soul. And by that in­formation that I have had from some good hands, several pre­cious Christians that have late­ly died of the plague, have gone to heaven under as high a spirit of joy, of comfort, of assu­rance, and of a holy triumph, as any of the last mentioned wor­thies, or as any other that ever I heard of or read of; the remem­brance of which hath been, and still is a singular Cordial to all their relations and friends that yet survive them.

But as I was saying, No godly man falls in any Common Cala­mity till his glasse be run, and his work done; so I say of all those dear servants of the Lord that have fallen by the pestilence in the midst of us, their hour was come, and John 7. 30. chap. 8. 19, 20. 2 Tim. 4. 6, 7. their course was finished. Had God had any further doing work, or suffering work, or bearing work, or witnessing work for them in this world, 'twas not all [Page 54] the Angels in heaven, nor all the malignant diseases in the world, that could ever have cut them off from the land of the living. When Lazarus was dead, his two sisters John 11. 21, 32. Martha and Mary came to Christ with tears in their eyes, and sad complaints in their mouths. Lord if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died, said Martha; and Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died, said Mary: And is not this the common language of many this day, when such and such pre­cious Christians have fallen by the pestilence; Oh if such a Physitian had been here, they had not died; or if they had been let blood, they had not died; or if they had taken such a potion, they had not died; or if they had eat but of such or such meats, they had not died; or if they had not lived in such a foggy air, they had not died; or if they had not been shut up in such close narrow nasty rooms and places, they had not died; or had they been but so wise and happy as to have applyed such or such a remedy, they might have been alive to this day. [Page 55] Not considering with Job, that the dayes of man are determined, and his bounds appointed, which he cannot pass. The time and place, and every circumstance of his dissolution, is decreed from all eternity. That one man dies in the field, another in his bed, one at sea, another on the shore; one of an Apoplexy in the head, another of a Struma in the neck; one of a Squinacy in the throat, another of a Cough and Consumption of the Lungs; that so many thousands dies of Obstructions, Inflamations, Drop­sies, Gouts, Pestilence, it is fore­ordained in heaven. The hand of the Lord is in all, and he it is that having brought us into the world at his pleasure, will take us hence at his appointment. The Jewes have a saying, That God hath four Keyes under his own Girdle: 1. The Key of the Clouds. 2. The Key of the Womb. 3. The Key of the Heart. And 4. The Key of Death, the Key of the Grave.

Fifthly, God sometimes takes 5 away his dearest children in the Common Calamity, in judge­ment to wicked men. Because the hand of the Lord hath touch'd some of his dearest servants in this sore Visitation, how do the wick­ed insult rejoyce, and triumph; they say, Ahah, so would we have it. As the Fire-flie leaps and dances in the fire, so do wicked men rejoyce in the sufferings and death of the people of God. How do many wicked men bless themselves, be­cause they have escaped the hand of the destroying Angel, when such and such have fallen by it! Oh how proud, how obdurate, Eccl. 8. 11. how impudent, are many grown, because they have escaped the pre­sent judgement, when many o­thers that have been a thousand times better than themselves, have been sent to their graves. The Al­corán saith, God created the Angels of light, and the Devils of the flame. Certainly Gods children are of the light, but Satans chil­dren [Page 57] are furious, wrathful chil­dren, they are children of the flame. Oh in what a flame now The scales of the Le­viathan (as Luther makes the compari­son) stick close to­gether; and so do wicked men in their counsels, plots, and projects a­gainst the people of God. are many wicked men against the people of God, since the hand of the destroying Angel hath not yet reacht them, over what they were in, when the destroying Angel first drew his sword in the midst of us; as if they were spared on pur­pose to oppress, persecute, and scatter the people of God more than ever. Oh that all such would be but so favourable to their own souls, as seriously to ponder upon Ezekiel chap. 25. and 35. and Obe­diah vers. 8. to vers. 19. and Nahum 1. from vers. 9. to v. 15.

Felix Earl of Wertenbergh, one of the Captains of Charles the Fifth, burning in rage and anger against the people of God, he swore in the presence of divers at supper, That before he died, he would ride up to the spurs in the blood of the Lutherans; but God soon cool'd his courage, for that very night he was choakt and strangled in his own blood. [Page 58] Paul prayeth that he might be deli­vered from unreasonable and wicked men, the word is [...] absurd men, 2 Thess. 3. 2. such as put themselves upon wayes of opposition, against all reason and common sense; yea, such who in their rage and bitterness of spi­rit make no bones of breaking all the Laws both of God and men, so they may but have their wills and lusts satisfied, in afflicting, scattering, and tormenting of the people of God. Absurd men with Judas kiss Christ and betray him; they kisse the head, and stab the body; or as one wittily expresseth it, they kisse the mouth, and tread upon the toes. Reader, remember this, when the people of the Jewes made use of Philo to apologize for them unto Caius the Emperour, Caius used him very ruggedly, but when he was come out of his pre­sence, the Jewes came round about him. Well saith he (to encourage them) surely Caius will arm God a­gainst himself for us. Let the Reader apply it as he pleaseth.

Sixthly, God sometimes takes 6 away some of his dearest children in the Common Calamity, that he may deliver them from greater Calamities that are coming upon the world. The Jewes have a saying, When good men die, that it is an ill sign to the world. When the Luminaries of heaven are eclipsed, Deus aver­tat omen. Paulinus reports of Am­brose, that he would weep bitterly, when he heard of any godly mi­nisters death. Whilest Calvin lives, Beza's life is sweet; but when Cal­vin dies, death is the more accepta­ble unto Beza. 'Tis dark night, when the lights are put out, and when the curtains are drawn, and the windows close shut. Ah Eng­land, England, if this is not thy pre­sent case, I know nothing. The Clouds gather more and more, and every day they look blacker and blacker, and bloodier and bloodier; happy are those souls that are now in heaven, and blessed are those souls that are now waiting for the redemption of Israel.

Seventhly, Notwithstanding a­ny 7 outward promises that the Lord hath made concerning the protection and preservation of his children, yet he still reserves a liberty to himself, to chastise his Psal. 89. 30, 31, 32, 33, 34. Heb. 12. 6, 7, 8, 9. Rev. 3. 19. children with what rod he plea­seth. Notwithstanding all the gra­cious engagements that are upon the Lord to his people, yet he re­serves a freedome to himself to make use of the very lives of his people, in such wayes as may make best for the bringing about of his own ends, and as may make most for the advance of his own glory; and hence it comes to pass that God delights so to carry it to­wards his dearest people, as that sinners and saints shall be forced to say, That his judgements are unsearch­able, and that his wayes are past finding out, Rom. 11. 33. And that his way is in the sea, and that his paths are in the great waters, and that his footsteps are not known, Psal. 77. 19. If you take a strait stick and put it into the water, it will seem crooked; [Page 61] why? because we look upon it thorow two mediums, Air and Water, there lies the deceptio visus; thence it is that we cannot discern aright. Thus all the proceedings of God in his righteous judgements, which in themselves are just, righteous, and strait, without the least obliquity, seem to us strange and crooked. That the wicked should pro­sper, and the righteous be afflicted; that good men should be in bonds, when bad men walk at large; that the Israelites should make the bricks, and the Egyptians dwell in the houses; that some of the best of Christians should fall by the pestilence, when many of the worst of sinners have their lives for a prey; these are some of those mysterious providences that many times make some of the best of Christians to stagger in their judgements; and why so, but because they look upon Gods proceedings through a double medium of flesh and spirit; and hence it comes to pass that allthings seem to run cross, and that Gods most just and righteous proceedings, are not so clearly and ful­ly discerned, as otherwise they might [Page 62] be. The wheels in a Watch or in a Clock, move contrary one to another, some one way, some another, yet all shew the skill and intent of the work­man, to shew the time, or to make the Clock to strike: so in this world di­vine providences seem to run cross to divine promises; the wicked are spa­red, and the righteous are taken away; yet in the conclusion all issues in the will, purpose, and glory of God.

Eighthly, and lastly, God hath ta­ken several of his own dear children 8 away by the pestilence, to wipe off that reproach which Atheists and wicked men are apt to cast upon the Lord, as if he were partial, and his wayes not equal. God to stop the mouth of ini­quity, Ezek. 18. 25, 29. the mouth of blasphemy, hath taken away several of his dear servants by the raging pestilence, when the Psal. 73. 5. 2 Pet. 2. 9. Job 24. 12. Psal. 50. 21. wicked walk on every side, yea, when hell seems to be broke loose, and men turn'd into incarnate devils, and all because they have not been plagued as other men, nor visited as God hath visited some of his dearest children. Sometimes Gods manner is to begin [Page 63] with his own people, 1 Pet. 4. 17. Judgement must begin at the house of God; and the Lord commands his de­stroying Angel to begin at his Sanctu­ary, Ezek. 9. 6. Sometimes when God intends to bring a common and general destruction upon the enemies, oppressors, haters and persecuters of his people, he is wont first to scourge his own till the blood comes. I took the cup at the Lords hands (he means the cup of Gods fury, Jer. 25. 17.) and made all the Nations to drink (that is prophesied, that they should certainly drink of it) unto whom the Lord had sent me. But who were to drink first of this cup? Mark he tells us verse 18. Jerusalem and the Cities of Judah, and the Kings thereof, and the Princes thereof; These were to begin in this cup to Egypt, and the Philistims, to Edom and Moab, and the Ammonites, as he shews in the verses following: Now all these were bitter and impla­cable enemies to the Israel of God. Ah sinners, sinners, do not insult over the poor people of God, because here and there the hand of the Lord hath [Page 64] touched them, and God hath given the cup into their hands; for if God be God, the cup must go round, and he will make good that word, Isa. 5. 22, 23. Thus saith thy Lord, the Lord, See verse 17. and thy God, that pleadeth the cause of his people; behold, I have taken out of thy hand the cup of trembling, even the dregs of the cup of my fury; thou shalt no more drink it again: but I will put it into the hands of them that afflict thee, which have said to thy soul, bow down, that we may go over; and thou hast laid thy body as the ground, and as the street to them that went over. And that word, Jer. 49. 12. For thus saith the Lord, behold, they (meaning his own peculiar people) whose judgement was not to drink of the cup (that is, the cup of my wrath) have assuredly drunken; and art thou he that shalt altogether go unpunished? thou shalt not go unpunish­ed, but thou shalt surely drink of it; or drinking drink, as the Hebrew runs. I have not spared my own dear people (saith God) who might have expected this favour at my hands, before any people under heaven, upon the account [Page 65] of my relation to them, my affections for them, and my Covenant with them all; and do you think that I will spare you? No, drinking you shall drink, that is, you shall certainly drink of this cup of my wrath, and you shall signally and visibly drink of this cup of my wrath. And that word Isa 49. 25, 26. But thus saith the Lord, even the Captains of the mighty shall be taken a­way, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered; for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children; and I will feed them that oppress thee, with their own flesh; and they shall be drunken with their own blood, as with sweet wine; and all flesh shall know that I the Lord is thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty one of Jacob. Oh that those men would lay these Scriptures to heart, who rejoyce and glory in the sufferings of the poor people of God; and because some of them have fallen by the hand of the destroying Angel, considering that the design of God herein, is to stop the mouth of iniqui­ty, and that none may say, that he is [Page 66] either partial or fond. Such men that have been eye-witnesses of Gods im­partial dealing with his own people in this day of his wrath, should rather be down in the mouth than up in their spirits; they should rather be silent than raving against the people of the Lord; they should rather tremble than rejoyce, for if God deal thus with his green-trees, how will he deal Luke 23. 31. The He­brews call good men green-wood and bad men dry-wood. with the dry? when God cuts down his best timber, will he not either grub up, or burn up the old stumps? surely he will. If judgement begin at the house of God, where shall the sinner and the ungodly appear? 1 Pet. 4. 17, 18. If God deal thus with his best friends, how will he deal with his enemies? If God deal thus with his dearest children, servants and slaves have cause to tremble. And thus much for the reasons why some of Gods dearest children have fallen by the pe­stilence, in this day of the Lords anger.

The Tenth Divine Maxime or 10 Conclusion is this, Viz.

Elijah went to heaven in a fiery 2 Kings 2. 11, 12. Chariot; and many thousand of the Martyrs went to heaven in fiery Cha­riots, and in bloody Chariots; and doubtless, many worthies in this day are gone to heaven in a pestilen tial Chariot, as in a Chair of State. Hea­ven is a place of so much pleasure and delight, that they are happy that can 1 Cor. 9. 25. 2 Tim. 4. 8. James 1. 12. 1 Pet. 5. 4. Rev. 2. 10. Nec Chri­stus, nec Coe­lum patitur hyberbolem. Neither Christ, nor Heaven, can be hy­perboli­zed. get thither any how. There is laid up in heaven an Incorruptible Crown, a Crown of Life, a Crown of Righteous­ness, a Crown of Immortality, a Crown of Glory; and who would not shoot a­ny gulf to come to these Crowns. The goods things of heaven are so many, that they exceed number; and so great, that they exceed measure; and so pre­cious, that they are above all estimati­on. [Page 68] What will that life be, or rather what will not that life be, since all good either is not at all, or is in such a life? Here is light which place can­not comprehend, voices and musick which time cannot ravish away, odours which are never dissipated, a feast which is never consumed, a blessing which eternity bestoweth, but eterni­ty shall never see at an end; and who would not wade through a red Sea, to come to this heavenly Canaan? What are all the silks of Persia, and all the spices of Egypt, and all the gold of Ophyr, and all the treasures of both Indies; yea, what is the glory of ten thousand worlds, to that glory that those saints are now enjoying, who have died by the pestilence in the midst of us. When Cyneas the Em­bassadour of Pyrrhus, after his return from Rome, was asked by his Master, what he thought of the City and State, he answered, That it seemed to him to be Respublica Regnum, a State of none but great States-men, and a Common-wealth of Kings. Such is Heaven, no other than a Parliament of Emperours, [Page 69] a Common-wealth of Kings; every saint in that Kingdom is Co-heir with Christ, and hath a Robe of Honour, and a Rom. 8. 17. Scepter of Power, and a Throne of Ma­jesty, and a Crown of Glory. Now what doth that Christian lose, who dies of the pestilence, and by that means is brought to the fruition of all this glory! Death (saith M. Brightman) that was before the Devils Serjeant to dragg us to hell, is now the Lords Gentleman-Ʋsher to con­duct us to heaven.

In the Ceremonial Law there was Levit. 25. an year they accounted the year of Ju­bile, and this was with the poor Jewes a very delightful and acceptable year, because that every man that had lost or sold his lands, upon the blowing of a Trumpet rerurned, and had possession of his estate again; and so he was re­covered out of all those miseries and extremities in which he lived before. Now our whole life in this world, is made up of troubles and trials, of ca­lamities and miseries, of crosses and losses, of reproaches and disgraces, but death is the Christians Jubile; it wipes away all tears from his eyes, it [Page 70] turns his miseries into mercies, his crosses into crowns, and his earthly hell into a glorious heaven. Though death, though the pestilence, be to the wicked as the Rod in Moses hand, that was turned into a Serpent; yet to the godly, death, the pestilence, is like to the wand in Elijahs hand, a means to waft them over into a better life. The Heathen Gods held death to be mans summum bonum, his chiefest good. Solomon upon his Throne ex­tol'd his Coffin above his Crown. Death is a fall that came in by a fall. For a saint to die, is for a saint to be no more unhappy. By death the saints come to a fixed and invariable eterni­ty. Death is but an entrance into life. That is not death, but life, which joyns the dying man to Christ; and that is not life, but death, which separates the living man from Christ. Death will blow the bud of grace into the flow­er of glory. Death is a saints Quie­tus est.

All fearful disasters (saith Gregory) which rob the saints of life, do but serve as a rough wind, to blow them suddenly [Page 71] into their desired haven; I mean hea­ven. It matters not (saith Austin) whether a burning feaver, or flash of lightning, or whether a stone in the bladder, or a thunder-stone in thy head, sends thee out of this miserable world; for God minds not, saith he, the immedi­ate occasion of thy coming to him, but the condition and posture that thy soul is in, when it cometh before him. The great thing that God will look at, is whether thou art a sheep or a goat, a sinner or a saint, a friend or an enemy, a son or a slave, a believer or an infi­del; whether thou art growing on the Crab-stock of old Adam, or art en­grafted into Christ; whether thou art cloathed with the righteousness of his Son, or whether thou standest before him in the ragged righteousness of thine own duties.

The Eleventh Divine Maxime or 11 Conclusion, is this, Viz.

The smartest rod that God layes [Page 72] upon his own people, is from a princi­ple Rev. 3. 19. Prov. 3. 11, 12. Heb. 12. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. of love; though he be angry with his peoples sins, yet he loves their persons. Though the pestilence comes as a judgement upon wicked men, yet it comes onely as a chastisement upon the people of God. When the plague comes upon wicked men, it comes upon them by vertue of the first Co­venant, and as a fruit of the Curse; but when it comes upon the godly, it comes upon them by vertue of the se­cond Covenant (I mean the Cove­nant Psal. 89. 30, 31, 32, 33, 34. of Grace) and as a fruit of his love: Hence God is call'd, the great and terrible God, that keepeth Cove­nant, Neh. 1. 5. But why is he cal­led the terrible God that keepeth Covenant, but because as he hath co­venanted to keep them from the evil of the world, and to purge away their Psal. 119. 75. John 17. 2 Tim. 4. 17, 18. sins, and to save their souls, and to preserve them to his heavenly king­dom; so he stands bound by his Co­venant, to make use of any terrible judgements or terrible dispensations, to effect these great and glorious things. As we sometimes preserve [Page 73] those things in salt, that we cannot pre­serve in sugar; so sometimes God preserves his poor people in the salt of afflictions, in the salt of terrible dispensations, when they would not, when they could not be preserved in the sugar of mercies, &c. Though the plague should come into a godly fami­ly, yet God will deliver that family from the evil of the plague. Psal. 91. 10. There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. Beloved, Though the plague should come into a godly mans house, yet there shall not be any evil in it to the godly man. When the plague comes into a wicked mans family, it alwayes comes in the quality of a Levit. 26. curse; but it never comes into a god­ly mans family in the quality of a curse, for Christ was made a curse for Gal. 3. 13. them. It never enters into a godly mans family as a fruit of Gods reveng­ing justice or wrath, Rom. 8. 8. Jer. 24. 5. Isa. 54. 7, 8, 9, 10. Jer. 31. 3, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37. When the plague comes upon the wicked, it comes up­on them as a fruit of Gods judicial [Page 74] wrath; but when it comes upon the godly, it onely comes upon them as fruit of Gods fatherly anger. When it comes upon the wicked, it comes up­on them as a fruit of Gods everlasting wrath; and therefore where it proves fatal, 'tis but an inlet to eternal tor­ments: But when it comes upon a child of God, it comes upon him but as a fruit of Gods momentary wrath, Isa. 54. 7, 8, 9, 10. Look as David gave charge to his souldiers that they should not kill Absalom his son, but onely restrain his unnatural re­bellion, and reduce him to his former obedience; so when God sends the pestilence amongst his people, he layes a law of restraint upon it, that it shall not hurt his people, that it shall not destroy their graces, nor ruin their souls. The full commission that God gives to the pestilence, is to restrain the sins of his people, and to destroy the soul-rebellions of his peo­ple. I have read of a Load-stone in Aethiopia, which hath two corners, with the one it draws the iron to it, with the other it put the iron from it: [Page 75] so God hath two armes, the one of mercy, and the other of judgement; two hands, the one of love, the other of wrath; with the one he draweth, with the other he driveth; the one stroaketh, the other striketh: and as he hath a right hand of favour, where­with to lead the saints, so he wants not a left hand of fury, wherewith to dash the wicked in pieces.

The Twelfth Divine Maxime or 12 Conclusion is this, Viz.

As he did between the Israelites and the Egyptians, Exod. 8. 21, 22, 23. Exod. 9. 22, 23, 24, 25, 26. Exod. 11. 7. That of the Apostle is a great truth, 2 Tim. 2. 19. The Lord knoweth them that are his. The Lord knows all his people by name, he doth not onely know how many he elected, but he also knoweth who they are; he [Page 76] knows the very numerical persons up­on whom he hath set his electing love. Though the pestilence doth not know a saint from a sinner, yet the Lord knows a saint from a sinner; though the pestilence doth not know the righteous from the wicked, yet the Lord knows the righteous from the wicked; though the pestilence doth not know him that feareth an Oath from him that sweareth, yet the Lord knows him that feareth an Oath, from him that sweareth; though the pesti­lence doth not know the clean from the unclean, yet the Lord knows the clean from the unclean; though the pesti­lence doth not know him that sacrifi­ceth, from him that sacrificeth not, yet the Lord knows him that sacrifi­ceth, from him that sacrificeth not; though the pestilence doth not know the oppressed from the oppressor, yet the Lord knows the oppressed from the oppressor; though the pestilence doth not know the persecuted from the persecutor, yet the Lord knows the persecuted from the persecutor, &c. 2 Pet. 2. 9. The Lord knoweth [Page 77] how to deliver the godly out of temptati­tions, that is afflictions; though the godly man do not know how to deli­ver himself out of temptations, though others do not know how the godly man should be delivered out of tem­ptations, yet the Lord knows how to deliver the godly man out of tempta­tions; and his time is alwayes the best. The Physitian turns the hour-glasse, and resolves the physick shall work so long, the impatient Patient cries out, Oh I am in pain, Oh how I am tor­mented, Oh what would I not give for a little ease, Oh me thinks every hour is a year; but the wise Physitian knowing the fittest time, will not suffer him to have any rest or comfort, till the physick hath had its proper o­peration. Thus many times Gods dear children when they are under sore tri­als, they cry out, How long Lord, how long shall this Rod lie upon our backs, how long shall thy anger smoak, how long shall the judgement conti­nue; but God will turn a deaf ear, and make them wait his time, which is alwayes the best time. And therefore [Page 78] though God knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations, yet he will take his own time to deliver them out of temptations, &c.

The Thirteenth and last Divine 13 Maxime or Conclusion, is this, Viz.

Death is not Mors hominis, but Mors peccati; not the death of the man, but the death of his sin. When Sampson died, the Philistims died to­gether with him; so when a believer dies (be it by the pestilence or any other disease) his sin dies with him. As death came in by sin, so sin goes out by death. As the worm kills the worm that bred it, so death kills sin that bred it. The Persians had a cer­tain day in the year, wherein they used to kill all serpents and venemous [Page 79] creatures; such a day as that will the day of death be to every believer. When the pestilence hath put a period to a Christians dayes, then he shall never be proud more, nor passionate more, nor unbelieving more, nor worldly more, nor neglective of duty more, nor grieve the spirit of God more, nor wound Conscience more, nor break his peace with God more, nor sad the hearts of the righteous more, nor open the mouth of blasphe­my more; the death of the body shall quite destroy the body of death: so that as sin was the Midwife that brought death into the world, so death shall be the grave that shall bu­ry sin in. When the pestilence takes away a godly man, it doth not take him away in his sins, but it takes him way from his sins. And as death, as the pestilence (where it kills) rids the believer of all his sins, so 'twill rid him of all his troubles. Death cures all diseases, the aking head, and the unbelieving heart; Ʋltimus morbo­rum medicus mors. At Stratford-Bow Acts & Mon. fol. 1733. were burned in Queen Maries dayes, [Page 80] at one stake, a lame man and a blind man; the lame man after he was chain­ed, casting away his crutch, bad the blind man be of good comfort, for death would cure them both; 'Twill cure thee (saith he) of thy blindness, and me of my lameness. The way to glory is by misery. In this world we are all Benonies, the sons of sorrow. The way to heaven is by weeping crosse. Christs-passion week was before his Ascention day. None passes to Para­dise, but by burning Seraphims. We cannot go out of Egypt, but through the Red Sea. The Children of Israel came to Jerusalem through the Val­ley of Tears, and crossed the swift river of Jordan, before they came to the sweet waters of Siloam. If a god­ly man die of the pestilence, he shall never be haunted, tempted, and buf­fetted by Satan more, he shall never see a cloud, a frown, a wrinkle in the face of God more; the Chair of pe­stilence shall be to him but a Chair of State, by which he shall be brought into the presence of the King of Kings. If the plague prove mortal to a godly [Page 81] man or woman, it shall do that for them, which all ordinances could ne­ver do, and which all their duties could never do, and which all their graces could never do, and which all their experiences could never do for them, and which all the assistances, influences and incomes of the holy spirit could never do for them, &c. It shall at once free them from all their sins, snares, sorrows, tears, tem­ptations, afflictions, oppressions, op­positions, vexations, and persecutions. Death will cure the believer of all his bodily diseases and distempers at once. And thus I have done with these Di­vine Maximes and Conclusions; the Lord make them as so many heavenly Cordials to the Christian Reader.