A SERMON PREACHED TO THE NOBELY-DESERVING GENTLEMAN, SIR THOMAS WARNER: And the rest of his Company: Bound to the West-Indies. For their FAREWELL:  
At St. Buttolph's, Aldersgate, London. Septemb. 6. 1629.  
BY JOHN FEATLY, Preacher of the Word of GOD.  
LONDON: Printed for Nicholas Bourne, at the South entrance of the Royal Exchange. 1629.   

TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE, JAMES Earl of Carlisle, etc. Count Palatine of the Province of CARLISLE, etc.  
Right Honourable:  
DVtie becomes disguised, where it wants the substance of Integrity: and this loses itself, when ignorant of expression. Great Personages are often cloyed (as with the verbal expressions, so) with the hypocrisy of those that tender them. But my self am become the exception against that common rule; and I dare with as bold a Confidence convict, as slight the Opposer. My bowing-heart hath been always steeped in desire to present the Pledge of an humble observance to your Lordship: But remaining guilty of my weakness, here I sue for assistance by a Noble Protection.  
The Sermon itself is the Defenders of the faith; and though brief, yet orthodoxal. If any carp at it, peradventure it may prove a Mansenile-apple, (whereof I have seen diverse in the Indies) that blisters the Tongues of them that taste.  
The Noble worth of my deserving Commander, Sir Thomas Warner, made me a Traveller into the Indies, being thereby the first Preacher upon Saint Christopher's Lands. And your Lordship's unualued Goodness and Patronage of those Parts, hath now commanded this Sermon to travel into the Censure of each Peruser: If it suffer by a Martyrdom, yet the Author shall ever appear  
Your Lordships humbly and faithfully-devoted, IO. FEATLY.   

A SERMON PREACHED TO THE West-Jndia Company.  JOSH. 1.9. 
Have not I commanded thee? Only be strong, and of a good courage: Be not afraid, neither be dismayed: for I will be with thee whithersoever thou goest.  
MY Text speaks in Thunder; and like the rousing Drum beats an Alarm: joshua is the Commander, the Israelites his Soldiers, and the Inhabitants of the Land of Promise are the Enemies whose destruction is threatened by the God of War. Hear are judgements to be executed, and furious Anger to be fed with the Blood of a Nation, and the desolation of a Country. The dismal day of a grim destruction, that must speak in the fiercest language of horror and amazement, is now hard at hand. And that the Time itself may (as it were) stand still till the gasping groans of dying men have mystied the Air, and their foamy blood disfigured the Earth, the Sun shall seem unjust to the conquered wretches, when each minute of unexpected Misery shall appear more tedious than an Age of common Sorrows.  
The Israelites, after a tiring and long continued journey, grow so weary, that their faint limbs are now as desirous of Rest, as before their scorching Thirst desired Water: Yet, lest they should enjoy their Pleasures, before their Miseries had prepared a sufficient relish for them, they must not yet enter into their earthly Bliss: For behold their Commander is dead; and what greater Affliction could strike them dumb with over-cloyed Sorrow, than the loss of him, who should lead them to their Rest? yet to the end that they might know that he that commanded their Ruler, commands them to behold his Providence and Care over them; Moses is dead, (saith he, ver. 2. of this Chap.) But what follows? Now therefore arise joshua, go over this jordan, thou and all this People, unto the Land which I do give unto them.  
And lest the People should suspect their General's Commission, it is given him by the King of Kings, in the 5, 6, 7, and 8. verses, but especially in the former and later words of my Text: Have not I commanded thee? and I will be with thee whithersoever thou goest. Yea, and to the intent that joshua should not be ignorant of his duty required, the Almighty (as it were) puts in the Conditions, Only be strong, and of a good courage; Be not afraid, neither be dismayed.  
Thus is my Text the complete Commission: Have not I, etc. The words imply a Voyage to make war upon a rejected Nation: I may therefore peradventure incur the rigid Censures of diverse here present, whose homebred Security desires to nuzle itself in the sweet repose of a happy Peace. And may the God of Peace preserve our Kingdom in the Bond of Peace and Quietness till our Saviour's second Coming. Yet I am sure of Others that hear me this day, which cannot dislike the Subject of my ensuing Sermon. My Text was chosen for some of us most particularly, whose occasions command us to take leave of our Native Soil, that we may possess the Land of the Hittites and Amorites, the Habitations of Saluage-Heathens, whose understandings were never yet illuminated with the knowledge of their Maker. Yet will we not engross the whole hour's discourse: For I presume (by God's assistance) that my Meditations shall be acceptable to All, and the use profitable: for every one ought to desire and endeavour that his Actions might be seconded with divine Blessings, if he desire what he ought: Which he alone can do, whose approbation we must implore, that so we may hear him speaking unto us, as to joshua in my Text.  
The words (you see) are full of authority, and contain in them 

thus much Variety: 

1. The great Commander: I: God. wherein, 

1. The Commission and Authority he gives to joshua: Have not I commanded, etc. Wherein observe 

1. His Power, included in the Majesty of his speech.  
2. His providence and care over his People, to give them joshua.    
2. A Promise. wherein 

1. The Promise itself; to joshua, upon his trusty Service: I will be with thee.  
2. The large extension of it: Whithersoever thou goest.  
Be strong, and of a good courage.  
Be not afraid, neither be dismayed.      
2. The Person commanded, joshua: in whom is required a Duty. 

1. Affirmative.  
2. Negative.        

First of the first General, the Commander: and therein of the Commission: in which Gods great Power, included in the Majesty of his Speech. Have not I commanded thee?  
EArthly Authority derives itself from the Omnipotency, and ceases to be imperial when it forgets the Author thereof. Non est Potestas nisi a Deo; & quae sunt Potestates, sunt a Deo ordinatae (saith Saint Paul, Rom. 13.1.) There is no Power, but of God; and the Powers that are made, are ordained of God. Here then joshua stands justified, whose Command knew no other donor than the great Commander of Heaven and Earth. And again, here God himself confutes the Epicures, by his own language, making use of his Potency in the words of my Text. Can any man here question his All-sufficient Power in doing whatsoever he pleaseth, the majesty of his words would control the petulancy of such blind folly: Have not I commanded thee? I that sit in the high and holy place, to judge those Miscreants, that dare question mine Authority. I, that have created all things out of nothing, that nothing might hinder them from knowing their Creator. I, that threaten in Thunder, when unjust Mortals, following their own wickedness, provoke my fury to throw vengeance upon their disobedience. I, that control the whole Fabric of Nature, and can blow it away with the breath of my displeasure. Have not I commanded thee? The Majesty of his Style is a strong argument of the Sufficiency of his Power, against all that deny it. To read his judgements upon the Israelites in their journey, for their stubborn Murmur, would command the Peruser to a confident belief of his justice. To behold the Plagues he sent upon K. Pharaoh and all Egypt, would make the heathens themselves determine of his Prerogative-royall. Yea, and to observe his infinite store of several Punishments for perverse Sinners, would make the stubbornest offender acknowledge it sufficient when he shall say Have not I commanded thee? Let joshua then stand undaunted, and the glory of the Creator dispel the Clouds of Fear that might possess his Heart, for it is the great jehovah that commands him. It will not (I suppose) be impertinent here to instruct the ignorant in this Attribute of God, which is defined to be the essential property of God, whereby he can and may work whatsoever is agreeable to his nature; Yet that the Power of God hath several acceptions.  

First it is taken for the Eternal Son of God, jesus Christ our Saviour, (as in 1 Cor. 1.24.) We preach Christ the Power of God.  
Secondly, for the Gospel of Christ, (so Rom. 1.16.) I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the Power of God unto salvation.  
Thirdly Catachrestically, The Samaritans called Simon Magus the Power of GOD, (Acts 8.10.) To whom they all gave heed, from the least unto the greatest, saying, This man is the great Power of God.  
Fourthly, and truly, It is taken for the essential Property of God, which belongs to the Trinity.   
Yet, to avoid all erroneous mistaking herein, we must have a care to distinguish between the Essentiall-Power of God, (now spoken of) and the Personall-Power: As the Power of Begetting, in the Father; the Power of being Begotten, in the Son; and the Power of Proceeding, in the Holy Ghost.  
And again, we must distinguish between the absolute and the actual Omnipotency of God; yet both remaining active. The former is such whereby God can perfectly do whatsoever may be done, as well praeter & super naturam, beside and above nature, as with it: exemplified in making Elizabeth conceive in her old age, and the like: for with God all things are possible, Luk. 1.37. The latter is that whereby he not only can do whatsoever he determines; but can do it with a word, without any difficulty, and nothing may or can resist him. From the former of these ariseth a question, Whether God can bring to pass things against Nature, styled Impossibilities? To which we must distinguish between Impossibilia naturae, and Impossibilia naturâ, Things impossible of Nature to be done, which fly beyond the common pitch thereof, as to make the Sun stand still; or cause the fire not to burn, which we read of in the Scriptures; And things impossible in Nature, which are against the definition of a thing, as it is Ens: as to make a thing simply and really to be, and not to be at the same instant, which is utterly and absolutely impossible. By this latter the Papists are convicted, which maintain the Transubstantiation of Bread, into the very fleshly Body of Christ, and make the very individual Body in several places at once. Thus much then for the Positive knowledge; Give me leave only to clear 2 or 3 objections, and so I shall conclude it.  
First then in Genesis 18.17. the Lord said, Can I hide from Abraham the thing which I do? (as some Translations read it) which may seem to deny his Omnipotency: This is easily answered by the word, which is in the future tense, and our last Translation justly renders it, Shall I hide? Or if the former were true, yet it would be per 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, not that God could not hide from Abraham the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrha, but in the ardency of his affection, that he was so good that he would not.  
Secondly, Gen. 19.22. When God commanded Lot to fly to Zoar, he spoke in these words, Haste thee, escape thither, for I cannot do any thing till thou escape thither: therefore the Omnipotency may seem to be questioned: But to this it is answered, that God said he could not, because his Council was unchangeable, and he had before determined the escape of just Lot.  
Thirdly and lastly, Because God cannot lie, nor sin, nor be deceived, nor dye, therefore some would question his all-sufficient Power: But to this S. Austin answers, Ita haec non potest, ut potius si posset, minoris esset potestatis. Can he admit of these things, it would instead of improving, lessen his Power. He is called Omnipotent, because he can do what he will, and not suffer what he will not; for that would prove a passive-power in God, which we absolutely deny to be in him, and acknowledge only that which is active.  
Thus have I, as briefly as I might, waded through the first particular, considered in Ioshua's Commission, viZ. the Power of God, included in the Majesty of his Speech: Now follows.   

The Providence of GOD, pointed out in his Care which he had over his People, in giving them joshua, Thee: Have not I commanded thee.  
COrruptio unius est generatio alterius, say the Philosophers. The Corruption of one thing, is the Generation of an other. The Seed in the ground quickens by death. The Ashes of the Phoenix produceth another Bird. And as in them, so likewise in Authority: Moses being dead, joshua succeeds. Thus will the Word of God ever have the Truth to support it. He promised the Land of Canaan to the Israelites, whose Commander being dead, (lest they should rout themselves with a Mutiny, to dash their hopes,) joshua, is placed over them by Divine Authority. Thus was the Providence of God as well manifested in this, as in former passages touching the Israelites. His Providence (I say) which that I may briefly handle, I shall consider therein,  
First, What it is in the largest extent, viz. The Administration of the Almighty, whereby he did create, and doth, and will govern, and preserve by his Word, all his Creatures in general, but more especially Those that believe in his Word, to whom he gives the Holy Ghost for their Protector. Other definitions I need not oppress you with, lest I should become tedious.  
Secondly, we must consider How we may know that there is such a Providence.  
Which is manifested 

1. By the order of things visible.  
2. By the consideration of God in himself.  
3. By his Governing of all things, manifestly appearing.  
4. By his Word, wherein in diverse places he hath made it evidently apparent.    
Thirdly, The Causes are to be weighed; which are Three, viZ.  

1. The Mercy of GOD.  
2. The Promise of GOD.  
3. The Goodness and Love of GOD.   
Fourthly. The Sorts of it, which are two, viz.  

1. General, whereby GOD preserves all things in general.  
2. Special, whereby he doth more particularly tender the Faithful.   
Fiftly and lastly, The Effects of it, which are twofold, viz.  

1. General, to Create, Govern, Preserve, Cherish, and Defend us.  
2. Special, to his own Elect, in giving them his holy Spirit as a Preserver, and in caring both for their Souls and Bodies.   
Thus you see here Gods especial Providence over the Children of Israel, his chosen People, who for his Mercie-sake, his Promise-sake, and through his Love, would not suffer them to wander up and down without a Guide; but upon the death of Moses, he puts joshua in his stead, and gives him his Charge, with an Encouragement, Have not I commanded thee?  
Wheresoever GOD lays an Injunction, he cannot, nay, he will not endure any Contradiction. His Authority will not be questioned, therefore his will must be obeyed. Have not I commanded thee? True, yet this Command is loving too, and out of that affection which he had both to the People and to joshua, whom he first instructed, and then preferred.  
I could here remember the forwardness of our Times, wherein some, not knowing the burden of Authority, think themselves happy to wear the favour of a Title, yet remaining ignorant in the duty attending it. Honour was never more than a blast, which whistleth up and down, and rather studieth Fashions then Goodness: it is indeed a mere Ignis fatuus, leading men out of the right way, and yet shining as bright as if it meant no deceit. This Age is as well read in Titles, as any ever was in former times; but whether they have all had their Authority from the Almighty, (as joshua in my Text) with their Commission from Heaven, running in the Style of my Theme, Have not I commanded thee? I question whether I may question. Great Persons in Honour, I am sure, are sometimes but like to the Line of an Angle-rod: the Cork is the Honour, floating on the top of the Water, yet giving notice where the Bait is, which must catch that Fish, which we commonly in our language call Vice. There are several kinds thereof: Sometimes Adultery nibbles at the Bait; oftentimes Covetousness; but for the most part Pride: But where Desert challenges the preferment of Honour, the Led so peizes the Cork, that it is just between floating and sinking, yet not inclining to one more than the other. He that thus considers with himself of the Honour he hath gotten; not purchased, but merited, shall not only have his Commission with joshua, Have not I commanded thee? but shall likewise have the Promise with joshua too, I will be with thee whithersoever thou goest. Which is   

The second part of the first general: and therein first of the Promise itself, I will be with thee.  
THe power of ubiquity belongs to the Deity only; and determines that Person to be most irreligiously ignorant that dares a contradiction. That Spirit which in the beginning moved upon the waters, will wash the Perverse into the extremity of judgement, unless the prevention of repentant tears pleads his reconciliation. Sparrows cannot take a flight, nor a hair fall from the head, till God hath granted a consent. The Scripture takes notice of these two Instances, as things undervalved in our opinion; yet the former may teach us by his flight, to soar aloft, and shun that nakedness wherewith we are clothed; as well as the latter may prove the Power and Providence of God, who can blow away that which we cannot so much as discolour; Gods Immensity is without circumscription; his ubiquity without contradiction; his Omni-presence without limitation: His Attributes have all a relation each to other, and remain indissoluble. Were he not Omni-present, we might deny his Omnipotency, because he would not have power then, to be everywhere: we might deny his Omni-science, because he could not know the actions of men, where he could not be. And thus should we so mangle the Divinity, that by such Consequences we should in our opinions even utterly dissolve it. How miserable them we might become, being left to ourselves, denying a future happiness of Immortality, and expecting no more Bliss hereafter, judge ye. I could amplify this point far more largely, but that I hope your true belief would judge it impertinent. Let our Position then be that of S. Austin, (Lib. 22. De Civit. Dei) Deus totus in Coelo est, & totus in Terrâ, non alternis temporibus, sed utrumque simul. Or as the same Father, in his 57 Epistle: Deus est totus ubique, et totus in unoquoque, & totus in Seipso. God is all and wholly, every where, and the same in every person and place, and that in himself. The Heavens contain him, or else we cannot begin the Lords-Prayer, Our Father which art in Heaven. And yet he is not limited and bounded within that place; for so we should deny him to be here upon Earth, and how miserable Mortals would then appear, let every man censure. GOD is in Heaven, in respect of his more ample Glory and Majesty, because he doth there most excellently make manifest his Power, Wisdom, Goodness, and Communication of his Gifts and Graces in the presence of the blessed Angels. We must understand of him, as the Philosophers do of the Soul, who say it it Tota in toto, & tota in quâlibet parte: It is all completely in the whole Body, yea, and the same in every part: In the Hands, Arms, Legs, Feet, and the like; but the chief Seat of it is the Head, as the Galenists; but according to Philosophers and Divines, the Heart.  
Thus (Beloved) GOD is upon Earth, seeing and observing what we do, ordering and disposing of us according to his pleasure; yea, and he is in Hell, executing and viewing there the effects of his unspeakable justice: But his Chair of Estate (if I may so speak) is above in the Heavens; Nusquam est, quatenus a nullo continetur: et ubique est, quatenus Omnia continet. He is no where as contained, and he is every where as he contains all things. He is every where entire in himself, and absent from none, yet he is not contained by those with whom he is present, as if he could not be without them. He is every where by his presence, so as all things ever have, do, and shall stand naked to his view. And lastly, he is every where by his Virtue, working and effecting his good pleasure. Thus then have we determined of the Omni-presence of God, and the same essential.  
Here we renounce the Errors of the Vbiquitarians, who have earnestly contended to prove the ubiquity of Christ's humanity; but how vain their Tenent is, let S. Austin speak, who in his 57 Epistle thus concludes of it, una persona Deus & homo est, & uterque est unus Christus jesus, ubique per id quod Deus est, in Coelo autem per id quod homo. God and Man make up but one person, both of them united being the one Christ jesus, who is every where as he is God, but in Heaven only as he is Man. I dare not spend any time in the Arguments Pro & Contra concerning this point.  
Our Use may be that of the Psalmist, (Psal. 139.7) Quo irem a Spiritu tuo? aut quo a fancy tuâ fugerem? Whither shall we go then from thy Spirit? or whither shall we fly from thy presence? He that is Omni-scient, knows what we are: He that is Omni-potent hath caused that we are: and he that is Omni-present, is, and will be with us whithersoever we go, (according to the words of my Text,) I, the great jehovah, who have Heaven for my Throne, and Earth for my Footstool; who know all things, govern & dispose of every thing according to my pleasure; from whom no place is hid, and without whom no place can be; I (I say) will be with thee joshua, in this thy progress to the Land of Canaan; I will be with thee directively, to teach thee what thou shalt do: I will be with thee powerfully, to give thee ability of performance, and to cheer thee up in thy Voyage. Yea, I will be with thee correctively, to punish those which disobey my Command, sent unto them by thee. I will be with thee without intermission of time; when thou sleepest, and when thou awakest, when thou walkest on the way, when thou goest before the People which I have committed unto thee, and when thou interest with them into the Land of Promise.  
Happy Israelites! whose Protector was God, and whose indulgent Father was the Lord of Hosts. Thrice happy joshua too! whose Commission and Authority was from the Lord, strong and mighty, even from the Lord, mighty in Battle, who first gave him ability to perform, and then the order of performance. So just is God unto his Creatures, that he never takes advantage of their weakness, where he beholds a desire of performance.  
I may here then direct my speech in general to all that are here present, who shall at any time undertake the Commission of joshua: Let them be assured, that if God hath given them their Authority with a Have not I commanded thee? the same God will also give them the Promise, I will be with thee. There is none here but my speech must address itself unto. Those that only walk in the Streets, unless God hath given them his Promise, to be with them, may feel his judgements by several chances. Those that ride abroad without this Promise, may daily hear of the several afflictions, which they, aswell as others, have been, or may be bitten with. But more particularly We, whose intent it is (with God's assistance) to plough up the foamy Billows of the vast Ocean; whose Resolutions have commanded to visit another World, (as Geographers have termed it) We (I say) must first be sure that our Commission runs in the words of my Text, Have not I commanded thee? and than doubt not but the Promise will ensue upon it, I will be with thee. I will be with thee, joshua, not at this time only, but for ever; and not in this place only, but whithersoever thou goest. Which is   

The large Extension of the Promise: and comes next in order to be handled.  
ALl the Promises of God in him are Yea, and in him Amen, (saith S. Paul, 2 Cor. 1.20.) So certain is the performance, so sure the execution of them, that it transcends all humane Capacity, to express the truth of them. He that can do whatsoever he pleaseth, cannot promise but what he will perform. Whether it be in his fury, as the Plagues he sent upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and all his household: Or whether it be in mercy, as the delivering of Lot: Or merely in his indulgent and fatherly Love, as to joshua and the Israelites, in my Text. But it may seem strange that God should first command joshua to go with the Israelites into the Land of Canaan, and yet promise him to be with him whithersoever he went. Observe we then that the Promises of God concerning this Life, are always conditional. If ye consent and obey, ye shall eat the good things of the Land: But if ye refuse and be rebellious, ye shall be devoured with the Sword. And (as it is in my Text) Only be strong, and of a good courage, etc. Again, God promised to be with him whithersoever he went, provided always that he went no whither, but to the Places where God should send him. For jonas steering his Course another way, when he was sent to Nineveh, felt the Power of God working upon the waters: yea, and his Protection also to bring him safely ashore, that he might learn a better obedience. And if joshua here, in passing over jordan, shape not his Course for the Land of Canaan, he may likewise find that God will be with him whithersoever he goes, either as a judge to punish, or as an Omnipotent God, to bring him back, peradventure to the Land of Promise.  
Thus will God be with Us too, whithersoever we go. If we repair to his Temple with honest hearts, and truly-religious intentions, he will be with us in our Prayers, and add zeal and devotion unto them. He will be with us at Sermons, and add Attention and Memory unto us. He will be with us at the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of our Redeemer, and fit us for it with Faith and Repentance, yea and with all other necessary duties: that so when we return home to our houses, he may be then also with us, in our Practice of the former pious Duties; yea all our life time, by his Protection; at our deaths by Comfort; and after that in Glory.  
The thickness of the Hills cannot withstand the Immensity of the Godhead; insomuch that they which shall repair to them for shelter, shall find the words of the Psalmist verified; All the Mountains are his, and the strength of the Hills is his also. If they say that the Darkness of the night shall cover them, they shall find that The Darkness is no Darkness with God, but the Night is as clear as the Day: The Darkness and the Light to him are both alike. Hell feels the Severity of his justice: Earth knows the Power of his Greatness: and Heaven is filled with the bounteous Goodness of his Mercy. Thus is he with us here, to oversee us: in Heaven, to Crown us: and in Hell, to torment the Reprobates. What manner of persons than ought we to be in all holiness and uprightness of life? He that runs on in his Sins (just like a Moth about the Candle in the night) plays with hellfire, till at last it consumes him. He that makes a profession of holiness, and seems to endeavour to be as he appears, yet harbouring still some bosome-sinne, imitates a Fly shut up in a Chamber at noon day, which beholding the daylight through the glass, beats itself to death against that which discovers the light: But he whose heart is upright, and conversation just, flies up in his Meditations to the highest Heavens, to prepare a place for what is yet imprisoned upon Earth. Whensoever he stays at home, he finds God there, and for the time makes it a Bethel: when he goes abroad, (with jacob) he finds God there too, and sets up a Pillar of Prayers, to make it the Gate of Heaven. When he sleeps, he is clambering upon jacobs' Ladder up to Heaven: And when he wakes, he finds God with him then too, ready to accept of his Sacrifice, and protect him under the shadow of his wings. The whole Universe can as easily teach us the Omni-presence, as the Omnipotency of God, and confound the Assertions of heathenish Infidelity. joshua therefore here durst neither question the Power of God, whether he could be with him, nor his Truth, whether he would be with him whithersoever he went.  
Thus must we then with joshua resolve to obey, that we may secure our happiness. God will be with us, if he promise it. GOD will promise it, if we desire it; but without that, no Promise, nor favourable Presence. GOD will be with us in Peace, to preserve us in unity: in the Wars, to give us the Victory: in our Native Soil, to bless us with Plenty; and in forraigne-parts, to enrich us with Prosperity; provided always that (with joshua) we receive our Command from the GOD of Heaven. But if being commanded, we run into disobedience; our Peace shall be corrupted with perpetual Alarms; our Wars shall devour us; our own Country shall lie waste; and when we seek abroad, we shall perish where none shall have compassion on us.  
Let us then more especially, which must look undaunted upon Death itself, by the protection of our Maker, and see his works of wonder in the Deeps; that must fly from hence upon the wings of the Wind to the waste places of the Earth, to plant the knowledge of his goodness who commands us to go; Let us (I say) more especially assure ourselves that we are dispatched with joshuas' Commission, that the Sea may be but a jordan unto us, and the Land we go to inhabit, a Canaan. Our examples must as much teach the Saluages what we obey, as our Precepts, whom we obey. Our Religion must be aswell clad in Sincerity, as our Strength in Courage; that so those ignorant Infidels observing our religious Conversation, may join with us in a happy Resolution. Our equal Steps, and upright behaviour thus inflaming the hearts of the Ignorant, it may peradventure prove in a short space, a greater taste to dissuade them from believing us to be Gods, then to persuade them to believe that there is a God. Thus may those which are yet without, be comforted, & may perceive that God is with us whithersoever we go. It was his Promise to joshua, and doubtless it is the same to us; the Conditions aswell as the Commission still running alike, Only be strong and of a good courage: Be not afraid, neither be dismayed. Which is   

The second General: The Person commanded, joshua. Wherein first of the Affirmative part: Be strong, and of a good courage.  
Man's Integrity was the perfection of Amity; but his Fall the ruin thereof. When GOD imposed this Tax upon the Creatures for Adam's disobedience, all things tumultuously stole into a Mutiny. The Earth suddenly hatched an abortive Contention, insomuch that the Thorns and Thistles witnessed their strife, by a greedy scratching of each other. The Elements not contented with Peace, fell at variance too, so that the Fire wanting ability to overcome the Water hissed at the conqueror: and that part of Air which was detained in the bowels of the Earth, shaken the foundation when it triumphed in a Victory.  
Ovid Metan. Frigida pugnabunt calidis, humentia siccis,  
Ovid Metan. Mollia cum duris, sine pondere habentia pondus.  
Yea, and to show the corruption that we ourselves fell into, the whole World seeming (as it were) too little to contain two Brothers, Abel's blood must be the price of Cain's revenge. Hence have our Wars drawn their succession, and the gaining of Kingdoms hath become the large rate of innocent Blood: yet all to prove the justice of our Maker, who seeing us neglect his Commandments, gives us over to be punished one of another. But as in other things, so in this, is his Goodness manifested too, in that he punishes Rebellion with extirpation; & makes Religion inherit, where spotted Vice seeks its subversion. It is apparent by those whom the Israelites are sent to supplant. The Canaanites, which lived in the height of sensuality, must be humbled now in the depth of Misery. The great Lawgiver observes such a legal course in his justice, that whom Plenty hath swelled up to the disease of wickedness, Poverty shall be Physic to bring them to humility. And again, Those that have suffered the Slavery of Bondage, to be free for his Service, shall inherit a Canaan, to encourage them in their Integrity. The Israelites which were exposed to the tyranny of injustice under the Egyptian Pharaoh, must be comforted again with Milk and Honey. But lest a sudden Liberty should procure their forgetfulness of him that relieved them in misery, a tedious journey must usher them to Repose. They are come near jordan, and their Commander (poor wretches) surrenders up his Soul to the Giver thereof. Yet no sooner is he deceased, than joshua is raised. And lest he should plead excuse through a diffident Infidelity, Moses before his death (Deut. 31.6.) encourages him, saying, Be strong, and of a good courage: Be not afraid, neither be dismayed, for thy Lord thy God it is he that doth go with thee, he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. The Injunction from Heaven still remains the same, Be strong, and of a good courage. Yea, and to the intent that joshua should neither forget nor slight his Charge, it is oftentimes repeated; as you may read in the 6. and 7. verses of the 31. Chap. of Deut. and in the 6, 7, 9, and 18. verses of this Chapter. Where God is urgent in pressing Man to his duty, his Punishments for neglect become the greater. joshua certainly cannot forget what he is so often charged; he cannot deny it, because the Command is from Heaven: and he must not disobey it, for now his Credit, his Observance, and his Reward lie at the stake. Durst any to question what need the Almighty had to press joshua so hard to it, whom he could with a word make speedily valiant: the answer is ready, That he is not always pleased to do what he can, because he will try (as it were) whether men are willing to do what they may.  
But shall he command joshua to be strong, who hath said himself, that he delighteth not in any man's Strength? Alas (Beloved) What have we which we have not received from him? If I speak of strength; Lo he is strong (saith holy job, chap. 9.19.) wherefore whomsoever he commandeth to be strong, his very Word strengthens both the command and the commanded. But because ye should not run blindfold in an error, & be muffled with the common opinion of the World, intituling every rash and immoderate heat with the name of valour, the sequel Discourse shall rectify your judgements.  
If ye please to attend to Arist: ye shall hear him call it the rushing upon things terrible, where Death stands ready to snatch us, yet we undergo the jeopardy for some common-good. Peter Martyr determines it to be A habit of the mind, whereby according to a right reason, and for some just and lawful end, we hold a mean between Fear and Audaciousness. Others affirm it to be the Defender of justice, whereby we either banish Adversity, or moderate our Grief in affliction, or curb our joy in Prosperity, lest excess of joy or Sorrow should breed the performance of that which is base and wicked. Take which definition you please, or join them together, & I suppose it enough in brief for a present knowledge. Should I but attempt to divide it, the time would fail me before I should find the way out again. The of it howsoever is something which is honest & good, otherwise it is styled madness and cruelty. That which is thus good and honest, is either for God, our Country, or our King. The Subject of Valour is that part of the Mind wherein (in the absence of it) Fear or Audacity keep their quarter. The Object that it looks upon is Danger. The Form of it is a Mean between the two Contraries: and the true end, in brief, is that which is wellpleasing to God. It is wrought in us, and becomes ours in this manner.  
First, God opens our understandings, and teacheth us that he is most happy, who suffers most for his sake.  
Secondly, He is with us by his Strength and Power.  
Thirdly and lastly, He sends his holy Spirit to cheer us up, that we may boldly suffer whatsoever befalls us.  
St. Bernard would have every valiant man's Action be thus tempered; Sat justitia (saith he) in affectu, Prudentia in intellectu, Fortitudo in effectu, & Temperantia in usu. There must be justice in our affection; Wisdom in our understanding; Courage in the effecting of it; and Temperance or Moderation in the use of it. See then how boldly he may fall-on, whom GOD commands to be strong, and of a good courage.  
But let me not forget the rashness of our Age, which writes him Valiant, that dares thrust himself into a Challenge for a slight offence, and hazard his Soul for the steam of a word. Reason cannot plead excuse for him who mortgages that jewel for the vanity of a word, which cost our Saviour the price of Blood. He came to lose his Life for our sakes, and shall we quit ourselves of ourselves for a blast shorter than our Breath? In the revengeful person, if common sense may speak, verba verbis expianda, words should expiate words: But in the regenerate man, neither words nor actions can prevail for Revenge, because Vengeance is mine, and I will repay it, (saith the lord) Yet mistake me not (Beloved) For as we ought to be cowardly in the performance of things prohibited, so should we strive for valour in the execution of that which is just. When I condemn every common Duel, I approve of our lawful Wars; and where the Soldier fights upon just authority, that man is either ignorantly filly, or miserably detestable that honours not the Calling. The slight reward which the noble Soldier receives from the mouths of many in this age, may strike us into a fear lest we shall hereafter cry for those whom we now despise, and bewail the want of whom our Grief cannot recall. But God of his mercy prevent it by his Power, and preserve us safe from the fury of our Enemies. O it is (me thinks) a poor, and shameful requital for the ineffable miseries and hazards which a Soldier suffers abroad, when at home he shall be bitten with the aspen Tongues of some venomous Cowards whose property it is to undervalue what they dare not undergo. These are strong indeed, but only in their poisonous Breath, and their good courage proves Pedancie expressing itself in a speedy flight, not standing the shock of opposition. I could be fare more copious in the just prosecution hereof, but that the time would prevent me: Howsoever, give me leave to admonish the Soldier too, that he may know that swelling Oaths, profane and execrable Curses, and surfeiting upon all unclean and ignominious filthiness, disgraces the Person, and reflects in part upon the Profession, not without a stain of Reproach. They surely cannot be strong, and of a good courage, whom vice, not order instructs in undigested rashness. It is joshua only that is strong, & of a good courage, because his Cause is just, his conscience upright, his Religion Zealous, and God his Protector; for vice and valour never yet agreed in one. O let us then, who (as I hope) are all joshuas, holy and religious, be strong and of a good courage, that we may neither fear the Arrow that flieth by day, nor the Instruments of War that speak in fury: for David may kill Goliath; Saul may slay his thousand, & David his ten thousand, when God gives the word, to be strong, etc. He that enioines us to it, can and will expect our performance; and requires that whom he cherishes, should not be afraid, neither be dismayed. Which is   

The Negative part required in joshua, my last point, and craves your patience for a little while. Fear not, neither be dismayed.  
COntraria iuxta se posita, magis elucescunt. Contraries than appear most manifest when they are nearly joined each to other, as in black and white; heat and cold, and the like. Right so is it here: for fear and dismaying are but the privation of valour and courage, (handled in the first point.) I shall not need to dwell long upon it. Only take the definition of it from Arist: out of the second of his Rhet. where he determines it to be A certain Grief and trembling of the Mind, arising from the serious thought of some ensuing Evil, which may bring upon us either Trouble or Destruction. Should then a joshua fear, he might suffer the censure of men, and the displeasure of God, for want of confidence in him that employs him. Dangers he must needs undergo, that runs the hazard of Travels and War: But where GOD commands us not to be afraid, the Perils are prevented by the word of authority. Should joshua fear the wounds he might perhaps receive from his Enemies; yet God is that good Samaritane that can pour Oil into them. Should the fear of a Dearth possess him; alas, the Lions do lack, and suffer hunger; but they that trust in the Lord shall want no manner of thing that is good. Should he fear the pangs of a dry and scorching Thirst; He that before opened the Rock, and the waters gushed out, is as powerful now as he was at that time. Nay, should he fear Death itself, it might be an argument to prove the badness of his life; or at least it might give a suspicion of their unbelief concerning that happiest life of Glory. To suspect a danger before it comes, is to rush into Misery before our times: and so instead of prevention to hasten the destruction. Quid prodest (saith Sen.) mala arcessere & praesens tempus futuri metu perdere? Stultum est, quasi ante futurus miser, esse iam miserum: He that strives to prevent a Mischief, and yet loses the present time in the fear of that which is to come, falls wretched before it was appointed for him. Why should joshua then fear, or be dismayed, whom God almighty promiseth to preserve? Ignorat gratiam libertatis, quem ligat seruitus timoris, (saith S. Greg.) He knows not the blessing of Liberty, which lies imprisoned in the bondage of Fear. Let them be dismayed, whose sick Souls, deep in a Consumption, forget to hope for a future remedy. Integer vitae scelerisque purus, non eget Mauri iaculis, nec arcu. A pure and undefiled conscience needs no Shield to guard it from the fury of an Adversary. joshua may well fear if once he disobey, but till then let him be afraid to fear, lest thereby he be dismayed. Should we attribute the event of War to Fortune, the Heathen Poet would encourage the dullest spirit. Fortuna fortes metuit, Ignavos premit, (saith Senec.) Fortune stands afraid of those that are valiant, but plays upon the Cowards. Yet we that acknowledge the vanity of that heathenish Idol, must confess with Solomon, that The Horse is prepared for Battle, but God giveth the Victory. (Pro. 22.31.) Yet it may appear strange, that God should command joshua not to fear, when as his Statutes run perpetually, Fear ye the Lord. There is indeed a twofold fear, Filial, and Servile: the former arising from a true affection we bear to our Creator, and fear to offend because we love him. The latter is only a fear of the evil of Punishment, arising from a guilty conscience. The former is commanded, the latter forbidden in my Text. But this is a base fear of our Enemies, not to be suffered. The Heathen were as ignorant of the Punishments which came from God, as sent by him, as they were of God himself; and therefore one of their Poets, out of a daring resolution, cries out, Moriamur, & in media arma ruamus, una salus victis nullam sperare salutem. Let us die, (says he) and rush into the midst of our Enemies; the only safety the conquered know, is to have no safety. Shall then the Heathen outdo us, in that which Religion teaches us to be perfect? No, (Beloved) let us go on valiantly and courageously when we have occasion, for the Lord our God will be with us whithersoever we go.  
You that live at home under your own Vines, and eat the fruits of your own Trees; that feel not the terror of want, nor the heat of Miseries, to you it belongs to be valiant in suffering (if occasion shall happen) any persecution or cross which God may justly inflict upon you, either as a Punishment or Trial. Besides ye must be valiant in the Conflict against the World, the Flesh, and the Devil, lest if they overcome, destruction suddenly come upon you, as sorrow upon a Woman in travel.  
And again, for us that go abroad, it belongs in a special manner not to be afraid, neither be dismayed. If the surging waves of a swelling Sea smoke out threats and anger, yet he that walked upon the water and breathed a calm, can do the like for us too; but we must not be afraid, neither be dismayed. When the tempestuous Winds buzz in our ears, and seem to speak the language of death, he that once charmed them with Peace; be still; can do the like for us too; but we must not fear then, neither be dismayed. If the blustering noise of Guns shall roar in our ears, to threaten our mangling subversion, yet he that taught our Enemies to war, and their fingers to fight, can aswell unteach them again, and strike them with astonishment for our sakes; but he still requires that we should not be afraid, neither be dismayed. Lastly, if the Company of Indian-Archers rank themselves against us, yea and promise to themselves our utter confusion; yet must we know that the Lord, which is a Man of War, (as he hath styled himself) which breaketh the Bow in pieces, and knappeth the Arrows in sunder, can prevent their fury; but his Charge still will remain the same; the same Condition, that we be not afraid, neither be dismayed.  
Let me add then S. Augustine's words of Consolation, Deus tibi totum est; si sitias, Aqua tibi est; si in Tenebris sis, Lumen tibi est; ac si nudus, Immortalitatis tibi Vestis est. God will be all in all unto thee; If thou art hungry, he will be Bread unto thee; if thirsty, Water; if thou sittest in darkness, he will shine upon thee; and if thou art naked, he will clothe thee with Immortality. O let us then, who intent (by the divine Providence) to sing the Lords Song, in a strange Land, here make our promise unto the Almighty, That he shall be the Lord our God, and him alone will we serve. And then the Lord will speak unto us, as he did to joshua, in the words of my Text, Have not I commanded thee, etc.  
But before we depart, it remains that the Testimony of our Faith, Repentance, Love, Zeal, and all other divine Graces be sealed here in the face of the Congregation. See how for our Farewell Christ hath invited us all unto a Feast; O let us draw near, and receive our sweet jesus into the bosoms of our Souls, that he may receive us into the Arms of his Mercy: Our loving Saviour did eat of the Bread of Affliction, that we might eat of the Bread of Life: Our jesus drunk of the Waters of Marah, that we might drink of the sweet Springs of Living-water. Come, let us feast then both with him, and on him, that fasted for us; Let us embrace him with reverence; hold him by faith; keep him with charity; and preserve him in our souls, with repentance for our wrongs past, and Prayers and striving against it for time to come; that his victorious Death may be to us a triumphant Life. Thus when we have all eaten and drank together the assurance of our Adoption and Salvation, let us departed in Peace, with joy in the holy Ghost.  
But first, to those that remain in this flourishing Kingdom, We will cry, Peace be within your Walls, and Plenteousness within your Palaces; For our Brethren and Companions sakes, we will wish you Prosperity. For us, that must arise, and seek out a farther habitation, we will beg of the Almighty with a unanimous consent, that he will be graciously pleased to speak unto us, in the words of my Text: Have not I commanded you? Only be strong, and of a good courage: Be not afraid, neither be dismayed, for I will be with you whithersoever ye go.  
And to all of us may the God of Grace so plenteously give and bestow his Blessings, that we may not want his loving Protection in this Life, nor the fruition of Glory together in the Life to come.  
Which God of his infinite Mercy grant, etc. Amen.   
FINIS.