A SERMON PREACHED ON THE Fastday, NOVEMBER the xiii th'. 1678. Being appointed for Fasting and Prayer. BY BENJAMIN CAMFIELD, Rector of Aylston near Leicester. LONDON, Printed by J. Macock, for Henry Brome at the Gun, at the West-end of St Paul's. MDCLXXVIII. Imprimatur, Carolus Alston, R. P. D. Hen. Episc. Lond. à Sacris Domesticis. A SERMON ON PSALM xviii. v. 2. (but in the last Translation v. 3.) I will call on the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be safe from mine Enemies. IT is not long, since we were Assembled, on the fifth of this Month, to Bless and Praise God for his wonderful Mercies to this Kingdom in the seasonable Discovery and Defeating of our Romish Enemies most wicked and accursed Powder-Plot; which had it taken effect, all had been Entombed on a sudden in one common Ruin. And now, upon notice publicly given, That the same kind of Agents are at work again, in another way, to Destroy both His Sacred Majesty, and with Him our Liberties and Religion; we are, by the warrant of Authority, met together here this day, to call upon that God, who alone is able to protect and save us, and whose undeserved goodness we have had so much experience of hitherto, that he would be pleased graciously to continue, yet to defend both our King and Country, and bring to light, still more and more, all secret machinations against his Majesty and the whole Kingdom. To which purpose therefore I could not think of any thing more pertinent and agreeable, both to Direct us in our present Duty, and Encourage us to the same, than the words I have read from the Royal Psalmist, I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be safe from mine Enemies. This Psalm was a Public Form of Devotion Composed, and appointed by King David for the solemn seasons set apart to Commemorate his manifold Deliverances and Victories; for all the days, wherein God had delivered him; as the Chaldee Paraphrast hath it. And it hath the Honour to be twice Registered in Holy Writ, with very little variation in the words of it. For you may read it in the 22d Chap. of the 2d Book of Samuel, as well as here in the Book of Psalms. From whence we may plainly collect, That, however some of This Generation quarrel and except against set Forms of Divine Worship and Service, to cast dirt upon the established Religion, and make way for New-fangled Devices of their own, rather than Godly Edifying in Love and Unity; yet it was not so in the Church of God from the Beginning; but both a public Form was wont to be prescribed, and upon like occasions one and the same Form was without scruple made use of. And that by the Counsel and Countenance of no meaner a Person than King David himself, who is recommended to us as an eminent Servant of God, both in his private and Regal Capacity, Acts 13.22. a man after Gods own heart, as he himself hath testified of him. So much we have sufficiently intimated in the very Title of this Psalm, which was inscribed to the chief Musician or Perfect of Music, the Master of the Choir, to be sung upon public Solemnities.— To the chief Musician. A Psalm of David the servant of the Lord, who spoke unto the Lord the words of this Song, in the Day that the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his Enemies, and from the hand of Saul. And he said, See Dr. H. in loc. Viz. as followeth; that is, A Public Form of Worship, or Religious Acknowledgement indicted by David that eminent Servant of the Lord, in Commemoration of those many Preservations and Victories which God had vouchsafed him, and his now quiet settlement in the Kingdom of Israel and Judah, by the interposure of the Divine Providence in subduing the Philistines, Syrians, Moabites and Ammonites, that risen up against him; in quieting the Rebellion of Absalon, his son Absalon, (soon after which it is recorded, 2 Sam. 22.) but especially in rescuing him out of the malicious bloody hands of Saul. This he composed, and committed to the chief Musician, as a suitable service for those solemn Days, wherein there should be occasion to commemorate his Deliverances and Victories. And to that purpose it continues registered in the Book of Psalms, among many other, as a Pattern and Example unto all Posterities; and a Justification, as I said, beyond all contradiction, both of the lawfulness and expediency of Public Forms of Devotion, and the use or Repetition of the same Forms upon like occasion. I shall not now go about to unravel the Contexture of the whole Psalm, because I would not divert your attention from that plenty of good and proper Meditations, which the Text alone suggests unto us. Wherein we have these two principal parts: 1. David's holy Resolution or Practice: I will call on the Lord, who is worthy to be praised. And, 2. The Motive he had thereunto from the assured success of it; So shall I be (saved or) safe from mine enemies. Of which therefore now by God's help, I shall treat in order, as they lie. And First of the Psalmist's holy Resolution or Practice; I will call on the Lord, who is worthy to be praised. Wherein we may consider, yet more distinctly, these three Particulars. 1. The Person whose Example we have before our eyes, together with the Circumstances of his Condition, [I] King David, the Servant of the Lord, preserved and delivered by him from many potent Enemies already, and yet not without the Fear and prospect of others succeeding afresh, and growing up in the room of them. 2. The Act or Practice itself resolved upon, Calling upon the Lord; which, as I shall take occasion to show you, was all along his most Religious Custom, as well as Resolution in like Cases for the Future. And then, 3. The special Character here annexed unto the Object of his Invocation, Worship and Devotion; The Lord who is worthy to be praised. I will call on the Lord, who is worthy to be praised. First, The Person here spoken of; the [I] in the Text. That is David, a pious and Religious King, styled in the Title of the Psalm, The Servant of the Lord, as I told you. Religion, we see, is not a vile or mean Performance; is not a thing below the Highest and most eminent Monarches of the World; no disparagement at all unto their Greatness, but that which is indeed the chiefest Ornament in their Diadem and Crown of Glory. They have the same Essential Dependence upon God with other men, and He the same Right and Title of Sovereignty and Dominion over Them, being King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. Nay, They have an Obligation above others to serve and Honour God Almighty; not only as his Reasonable Creatures and Dependants like unto others, but as his peculiar Ministers and Servants, in their Sacred Office as Kings, exalted and upheld by him in that their Dignity. Again, Their Necessity as well as place engageth them hereunto: for they are surrounded with those Dangers and Troubles, which none but God alone, the Supreme Potentate, can preserve or deliver them in and from. No sooner have they escaped one Plot and Contrivance of mischief, but another Snare is laying for them. The Hydra of Treason and Rebellion hath many Heads; and when one is cut off, another perks up in its stead. Such was David's Condition. And we need not to look further than This Psalm for an ample proof of it. Here we read of the sorrows of Death and Hell compassing him: Verses 4, 5. The snares of Death preventing him: The Floods of ungodly men making him afraid. The Sons of Belial, men impatient of the Yoke of Government and Restraint, coming like a mighty Torrent upon him: Verse 16. Many waters threatening to overflow and drown him; Bloodthirsty, powerful and malicious Enemies, such as hated him, Verse 17. and were too strong for him, Verse 39 rising up against him. And those not only of Foreign Nations but amongst his own People. Verse 43. The strive of the people; nor only making open Insurrections, but endeavouring private Assassinations by men of violence; Verse 48. and those too secret and unknown; Dissembling and Falsehearted Subjects, Verse 44. such as yielded feigned Obedience, such as lied unto him in all their fair professions, and dissembled with him, as the old Translation hath it. Verse 6. No wonder therefore that we find him in his Distress, and in a Day of Calamity; and as it were in Prison and Confinement, Verse 18, 19 in great straits; sometimes in a state of War, and at other times in great Perils. Such is the condition of all Kings, especially of Pious and Religious Kings. For the King is the head of Order, and the very life and soul of Laws, both Civil and Sacred. So many Enemies therefore as there are abroad, to a State or Kingdom, their level is chief, neither at small or great, but at the Head and Soul of all the rest. The Devil and his Agents are all Adversaries to Order, and Quiet, and Peace, with Piety and Virtue; and therefore must necessarily impugn and strike at the grand Conservator of all these. And then, in his own Dominions, if we reckon up, how many there always be, that are in ill Circumstances themselves, and have their hopes only in a Change, in fishing, as we say, in troubled Waters; in disturbing all, that they may scramble for somewhat; How many Ambitious of Rule and Power themselves, that would fain be uppermost: How many envious at all above them, who therefore are ready to pull them down or undermine them: How many thirsting for Liberty, unbounded Liberty, to do whatsoever is good in their own Eyes: How many crossed in their undue Desires and Lusts, by the severity of good and wholesome Laws: How many whose Faith and Allegiance is easily corrupted by the popular insinuations and pretences of wheedling Demagogues, or to be bought and sold with Bribes and Pensions: How very few of Courage and Honesty enough to stick by a Prince in his low Condition: How many Powers, and Policies, and Devices he hath continually to watch over, and to struggle with: How many he must of necessity trust and employ, whom he hath but little or slender assurance of: If we consider, I say, but these, and the like obvious Circumstances, we cannot but see the manifold Troubles, and Miseries, and Calamities, that every Prince, every good and Religious Prince especially, is beset withal. As David, we read, was. But the greatest comfort is, He hath a Refuge and Sanctuary near at hand, notwithstanding all this, to betake himself unto; namely that of the Text. I will call upon the Lord. This we find upon all occasions was our Royal Psalmists stay and security. When He knew not what to do, nor whither to betake himself, his Eyes were still unto God. God, Psal. 46. saith he, is our refuge and strength: a very present help in Trouble. Therefore will we not fear, etc. Si fractus illabatur orbis, Impavidum ferient ruinae. Thus at Ziklag; 1 Sam. 30.6. David, saith the text, was greatly distressed: for the people spoke of stoning of him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his Sons, and for his Daughters: (and when any thing goes amiss, or succeeds ill in Government, the blame and complaints usually fix and centre on the chief Governor) but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God. He becalmed himself, as we read elsewhere, with such like expostulations as These. Psal. 42. Why art thou cast down, O my soul, and why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God, Psal. 43. for I shall yet praise him, who is the Health of my countenance and my God. Observe therefore, by how many different Names and Attributes of security he calls God in the Verse before our Text, on purpose, as it were, to declare, That he was All in All in his account: My Strength, saith he, and my Rock, Psal. 18.1. and my Fortress, and my Deliverer: my Buckler, and the Horn of my Salvation, (that is, according to the Hebrew Idiom, wherein Horn is used for Power and Plenty, my most Powerful and All-sufficient Saviour) and my High-Tower. In weakness, my Strength; against the Storm and Billows of Adversity, and that Ocean of Calamity, which beats at any time upon me, my Rock impregnable; against all manner of Violence or Assaults, my Fortress or Bulwark, my Shield and Buckler invulnerable; whatever Hosts or Armies invade me, my High-Tower and Castle; at all Times and in all Cases a most mighty and abundant Saviour and Deliverer. They are excellent words of the Prophet Habakkuk, Hab. 3.17, 18, 19 which I the rather mention, because the later part of them is taken out of this Psalm. Psal. 18.32, 33. Although the Figtree shall not blossom, neither shall Fruit be in the Vines; the labour of the Olive shall fail, and the Fields shall yield no meat; the Flock shall be cut off from the Fold, and there shall be no Herd in the Stalls: (that is, all visible help and relief shall fail) Yet will I rejoice in the Lord: I will joy in the God of my Salvation. The Lord God is my strength, and he will make my feet like Hinds feet, and He will make me to walk on my High-places— There can be no possible want of provisions to this High-Tower or Garrison. We see, by the way, what an utter Enemy the professed Atheist is to all public Governments, and the best security of Kings and Princes † 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉— 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. D. Chrysost. in Psal. 143.2. & 10. , who by denying God and Providence takes away this most Comfortable Refuge and Sanctuary, which amidst all Perils and Dangers they are to betake themselves unto. It is the Character of such profane ones, That they call not upon God themselves: Psal. 14. and that is not all the mischief of it, but thy seek to deprive others also of this blessed Privilege; Psal. 53. whilst they say, either, There is no God, or that He sees not, hears not, regards not his Supplicants. It is therefore the undoubted concernment of every State to suppress and banish Atheism, with all the Fautors of it. But hitherto of the first particular the Person whose good Example we have here before our eyes, That Religious and pious King David; who was always sensible of his Obligations to God, and how impossible it was for himself or any other Prince, to be safe and secure without the aids of Heaven. In the Second place we are to consider further of him in Conjunction with the Holy Practice here resolved upon. I will call on the Lord. Calling upon God is a Phrase sometimes put in Scripture for all Religion, as it is usual there for some signal act to stand for and expreress all the rest of the kind. But here we are to understand it in its most proper importance, viz. an Invocation by Prayer and Supplication unto God, whereby he betakes himself to the Divine Protection, begging Safety and Deliverance from him. And the words are rendered by Interpreters in several Tenses. As to the Time past, Invocabam; Piscator. I did call on the Lord, so was I saved from mine Enemies. And Thus we have it afterwards, Vers. 6. In my Distress I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God; He heard my voice out of his holy Temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears. The effects of which audience are magnificently set forth in the following Verses. See Verse 7. to vers. 16. & Dr. H. Par. How he expressed the Wrath of an All-powerful God, able to make the World to Tremble, nay to burn and consume it, interposing his hand as signally, as if he had descended in a black thick Cloud with a mighty wind, and the appearance of Angels in shining Garments, with tempestuous showers of Hail and Fire; with Thundrings and Lightnings, as with Arrows and fiery Darts, and finally with the same Notoriety of his Presence, as when the waters of the Sea were driven back by a strong East-wind, and the Deep turned into dry ground for the passage of his People Israel. Others read it in the present Tense: Jun. & Trem. Vatabl. Invoco, or Invocare soleo: I do call upon the Lord; This is my constant Practice and Custom. I call upon the Lord— so am I safe from mine Enemies. See the 142d Psalm. The Prayer of David when he was in the Cave. When he poured out his Complaint before God, and shown him his trouble, How a Snare was privily laid for him in the way wherein he walked, and he had none that he could trust to for Refuge, none that regarded or cared for him; His Soul in Prison, and his Persecutors about him, stronger than he. But he betakes himself to This his wont Practice, vers. 5, etc. I cried unto Thee, O Lord; I said, Thou art my portion in the land of the living. Attend unto my cry, for I am brought very low; deliver me from my Persecutors, for they are stronger than I; bring my Soul out of Prison, that I may praise thy Name. Others again read it, as we do, LXXII. Vulg. Lat. both in our Old and New Translation, in the Future Tense. Invocabo, I will call on the Lord. And thus, what was his Religious Practice and Custom in times past and at present, becomes also his pious and holy Resolution for the Time to come; as we find it frequently elsewhere repeated by him. Psal. 55. Having spoken of the Hellish Plots of some, that had been his Intimates and Familiars, from which he hardly saw any humane possibility of escaping; I mourn in my complaint, saith he, because of the voice of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked. The enemy crieth so, and the ungodly cometh on so fast; for they are minded to do me some mischief: so maliciously are they set against me. My heart is disquieted within me, and the Fear of Death is fallen upon me. Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, and horror hath overwhelmed me; and I said, O that I had wings like a Dove! for than would I flee away, and be at rest: Lo, then would I wander far off, and remain in the Wilderness; I would hasten my escape from the Fiery storm and Tempest. Destroy, O Lord, and divide their tongues, for I have seen violence and strife in the City. Day and Night they go about it, upon the walls thereof; mischief also and sorrow are in the midst of it. Wickedness is in the midst thereof; deceit and guile depart not from her streets. For it was not an Enemy that reproached me; (an open professed, and known Enemy) than I could have born it; neither was it he that hated me, that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him. But it was Thou, a man mine Equal, (a Man according to my rank, as the Margin reads it) my Guide and mine Acquaintance: We took sweet Counsel together, and walked to the House of God in company. You see, what a copious and pathetical description he gives of his imminent Danger and Troubles. See now his Resolution under all This; the Sanctuary he betakes himself unto, vers. 16, etc. As for me, I will call upon God, and the Lord shall save me. Evening and Morning and at Noon will I pray and cry aloud, and he shall hear my voice. He hath delivered my Soul in peace from the Battle that was against me; for there were many with me: [He reckoned upon God alone as a mighty and strong Host, and from his former experience he concludes for the Future] Yea even God, that endureth for ever (the same God still) shall hear me, and bring them down, even to the Pit of Destruction. Again, Psal. 86. Bow down thine ear, O Lord, (saith he) hear me, for I am poor and needy. Preserve my Soul, for I am Holy, (thine Anointed, one whom thou favourest, as the Margin hath it) O thou my God, save thy servant that trusteth in thee. Be merciful unto me, O Lord, for I cry unto thee daily (or, all the day); Rejoice the Soul of thy servant; for unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. This, we see, was his devout Practice. Then, for his Resolution so to continue, vers. 7. In the Day of my Trouble I will call upon thee, for thou wilt answer me. I will turn you but to one place more, Psal. 116. which gins with an hearty Profession of his Affections to God from the sense of his Mercies and Deliverances; (as this 18th Psalm doth,) I love the Lord, because he hath heard my voice and my supplication; because he hath inclined his ear unto me, (which supposeth his former practice of This Religious duty) Therefore will I call upon him as long as I live, (in my days, saith the Margin, viz. all the days of my trouble, distress, and calamity more especially.) And so he goes on to fortify his Resolution by a further Commemoration of his former practice This way, and the blessed success of it. The sorrows of Death compassed me, and the pains of Hell got hold upon me, (as we have it also in the 18th Psalm,) I found trouble and sorrow; then called I upon the Name of the Lord; O Lord, I beseech thee, deliver my Soul. Gracious is the Lord and righteous; yea our God is merciful. The Lord preserveth the simple, (the plain, honest, upright man, who relieth on him, when he is void of counsel to help himself) I was brought low, and He helped me. There is nothing certainly more proper in a Time of Affliction, Calamity and Trouble, than this Religious practice of Calling upon the Lord. Jam. 5.13. Is any among you afflicted? saith St. James, let him pray. Psal. 50.15. Call upon me (saith God himself) in the day of trouble; I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me. Such therefore was the message of King Hezekiah unto Isaiah the Prophet. 2 King. 19.3, 4. This is a day of trouble and rebuke and blasphemy, wherefore lift up thy Prayer for the Remnant that is left. Even Nature at such a time of extremity prompts us to this piece of Religion. The Atheistical Poet acknowledgeth it to be the common Practice of Mankind; — Multóque in rebus acerbis Acriùs advertunt animos ad Relligionem. Lucret. l. 3. Men in their Pains and Adversities are very apt to cry out, Lord help us! This the Prophet notes in a people that were otherwise forgetful of God. Lord, Isa. 26.16, 17. in trouble have they visited thee; they have poured out a Prayer when thy Chastening was upon them. Like as a woman with Child, that draweth near the time of her deliverance, and cryeth out in her pangs, so have we been in thy sight, O Lord. You have many Instances together in Psal. 107. how men cry unto God in their troubles, and he delivereth and saveth them out of their Distresses; particularly of them who go down to the Sea in Ships; when the stormy wind ariseth, and they are at their wits ends, Vers. 27, 28. Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble. Hence we have a common Proverb, Qui nescit orare, discat navigare: He that knows not to Pray, let him go to Sea; where the sight of so many Dangers, ready to swallow up and devour him, is supposed to be sufficient to teach him This Lesson. Unless he have contracted an unnatural Hardness, and senslesness both of God and Death, the Fears of Shipwreck will awaken him to Prayer. The Mariners, Jonah 1.5. we read, in the storm, cried every man to his God, and the Shipmaster comes to Jonah, and saith unto him, Verse 6. What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not. And we find them all afterwards, importunately at their Prayers. They cried unto the Lord and said, Verse 14. we beseech thee, O Lord, we beseech thee. The Disciples in a Tempest awaken our Blessed Saviour, saying, Lord, Matth. 8. save us, we perish. This, I say, is the natural and constant Practice of All that have any regard to themselves or sense of a Deity, that have not sinned themselves into a blockish stupidity, past feeling, in the time of imminent Troubles and Dangers and Calamities, to call upon God. And this is urged by Salvian as a strong Conviction against the Deniers of God Almighty's Providence. Lib. 1. p. 17. [Cur ad coelum quotidiè manus tendimus? etc.] Why stretch we our hands daily towards Heaven? Why seek we the Mercy of God by our repeated Prayers? Why do we run to Temples and Churches? Why do we supplicate on our knees before Altars? [Nulla enim nobis est ratio precandi, si spes tollitur impetrandi.] We have no reason at all to pray, if we have no hope left us of speeding by it. And the Heathen Seneca, before him, managed this argument against the Epicureans, who allowed of such kind of insignificant Deities, who neither heard nor regarded the Prayers of their Supplicants. [Nec in hunc furorem omnes mortales consensissent alloquendi surda numina & inefficaces Deos.] De Benef. l. 4. c. 4. It is no ways likely or credible, saith he, that all mortals should consent together in such a point of Madness as this is, continually to call upon Deaf Gods, and such as can Do nothing for them. Nevertheless, it must be granted, that all who call upon God, do not speed in their Requests; because, as St. James hath it, Jam. 4.3. they ask amiss. Ye ask and receive not, saith he, because ye ask amiss. And therefore it will be requisite, before I leave this subject, to show you briefly what are the qualifications of such a Calling upon God, as we may be assured of the Good effects of. These Qualifications now are reducible unto Three heads. The First, concerning the Object of our Invocation, whom we are to call upon. That must be the Lord, and the Lord only. Secondly, As to the Person Praying; He must be Righteous, at least in the Evangelical sense, that is, a True Penitent. Thirdly, As to the Prayer or Invocation itself, That must be with Humility and Reverence; with Faith; with Sincerity; with Forvency; with Charity; with Perseverance; with a due Submission to the Divine Will; tendered up to God in the Name of Christ; and attended with Endeavours agreeable to our Prayers. I shall little more than touch upon the particulars, they are so many; (and I would not prevent myself in what else remains:) But yet it is plainly necessary, that I say somewhat of them, because without attendance unto These things, our Prayers will certainly prove ineffectual, and vain Oblations. And as good, you know, not at all, as to no purpose. First then, The Object of our Invocation must be the Lord Jehovah, the True and Living God, and none besides him. I will call on the Lord. Prayer is a piece of Divine worship peculiar unto God, and which we cannot without peril of Idolatry give unto any other. And therefore it is one of the Arguments, used by the Ancient Fathers as well as Modern Divines, to prove the Deity of our Blessed Saviour; because we are taught to Call upon his Name. So we read of St. Stephen, Act. 5.59. They stoned Stephen calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus receive my Soul! Saying, Lord Jesus, he called upon God. That is, owned his Deity. And this is the Paraphrase, whereby Christians were at first known. They that called on this Name. Act. 9. 14-21. 1 Cor. 1.2. All that in every place call on the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Carmen Christo, quasi Deo, dicere secum invicem. As Pliny reports of them.) L. 10. Ep. 97. Whatsoever we Religiously call upon, we either find or make a God to ourselves, by that very invocation. The Lord than is He, whom we are to direct our Prayers unto; the Living God, and not Dead Idols; the Lord of all, and not any of his Creatures, not the best of them, Saints or Angels. As for Idols, you may remember what Elijah said to Baal's Priests, 1 King. 18.24. Call ye on the Name of your Gods, and I will call on the Name of the Lord. Verse 26. Accordingly, they called on the Name of Baal, we read, from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal hear, or answer us. But there was no voice, neither any that answered. And Elijah mocks them upon it. Verse 20. Cry aloud, for he is a God, he is talking (or meditateth, that is, in a deep study) or be is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth and must be awaked. Their Idols, Psal. 115. saith the Psalmist of the Heathen, are Silver and Gold, the work of men's bands. They have mouths, Psal. 135. but they speak not; eyes have they, but they see not; ears, but they hear not, etc. They that make them are like unto them: so is every one that trusteth in them. O Israel trust thou in the Lord; He is their Help and their Shield, etc. q. d. Aid and Defence is to be had from Him and from him only. We must renounce all Confidence and Dependence upon any other thing whatsoever. Psal. 20.7, 8. Some trust in Chariots, and some in Horses; but we will remember the Name of the Lord our God. They are brought down and fallen, but we are risen and stand upright. Prov. 18.10. The Name of the Lord is a strong-Tower; the Righteous runneth into it, and is safe. God is offended, when we seek other Refuges: Hos. 7.10, 11. The Pride of Israel, saith the Prophet, testifieth to his Face, and they do not return to the Lord their God, nor seek Him for all this. Ephraim also is like a silly Dove without heart; They call to Egypt; They go to Assyria, etc. Jer. 17.5, 6, 7, 8. Thus saith the the Lord, Cursed be the man, that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord. For he shall be like the Heath in the Desert, etc. Blessed be the man, who trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a Tree planted by the Waters, etc. It is the Character of the Ungodly; Lo, Psal. 52.8. This is the man, that took not God for his Strength, but trusted unto the multitude of his Riches † See Psal. 62.8, 9, 10. . Neither may we call upon Saints or Angels to help us, Rev. 19.10.— 22.9. for they are all God's Creatures and Servants as well as we; they refuse this Worship at our hands, and bid us give it unto God only, whom they together with us adore. I may here use the words of Eliphaz (which yet some of the Romish Church have been so absurd, Chamier Panstrat. Vol. 2. l. 2. c. 2. as to quote for the invocation of Angels) Call now, Job 5.1. if there be any that will answer thee; and to which of the Saints wilt thou turn? Secondly, As to the person invocating, he must be Righteous, at least in the Gospel acceptation, that is, a sincere and hearty Penitent. For God heareth not Sinners, John 9.31. viz. Such as continue in a course of Sin. Prov. 15. 8-29. The Prayer or Sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to him. Unto the wicked saith God, Psal. 50. What hast thou to do to take my Covenant into thy mouth, seeing thou hatest to be reform? Prov. 1.28, etc. 28.9. To such he threatens; They shall call upon me, but I will not answer. He that turneth away his Ear from hearing the Law, his Prayer shall be an abomination. To such he saith again, Isa. 1.15, etc. When ye spread forth your Hands, I will hid mine Eyes from you: Yea, when ye make many Prayers, I will not hear. Your Hands are full of Blood. Wash you, make you clean: put away the evil of your do from before mine Eyes: cease to do Evil, learn to do Well: seek Judgement, relieve the Oppressed, judge the Fatherless, plead for the Widow. Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord. That is, upon these terms, and no other, Vers. 19, 20. we may meet as Friends. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the Land; but, if ye refuse and Rebel, ye shall be devoured with the Sword, for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. Seek the Lord, Ch. 55.6, 7. while he may be found: call ye upon him, while he is near; but to that end, let the Wicked forsake his way, and the Unrighteous man his thoughts, Ch. 58. ●. etc. Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer: Thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou takest from the midst of thee the Yoke, Verse 6. etc. the bands of Wickedness before spoken of. Jam. 5.16. 'Tis the Prayer of a Righteous man that availeth. This our Psalmist was very sensible of; Therefore, saith he, I will wash mine hands in Innocence, so will I compass thine Altar, O Lord. Psal. 26.6. The Eyes of the Lord are upon the Righteous, — 34.15. and his Ears are open to their Prayers. — 66.18. If I regard Iniquity in my Heart, the Lord will not hear me. And in this very Psalm, Psal. 18.20, etc. The Lord rewarded me according to my Righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me: For I have kept the ways of the Lord; and have not wickedly departed from my God; (or not departed from my God, as the wicked doth) for all his judgements are before me, and I did not put his Statutes from me. I was also upright before him, and kept myself from mine Iniquity. (Eschewed mine own wickedness.) Therefore hath the Lord recompensed me according to my Righteousness, according to the cleanness of my Hands in his Eyesight. And yet this Psalm was most probably indicted (if we keep to the series of the History, See Dr. H. in Loc. where 'tis first recorded, 2 Sam. 22.) after the Commission of those great Sins of Adultery with Uriah's Wife, making him Drunk, contriving his Death, and Living for some considerable time, before Nathan came to him from God under this guilt. These many expressions therefore of his Universal Uprightness must be Interpreted and Understood, as the Scripture elsewhere speaks, with the exception of that matter of Uriah, 1 Kings 15.5. David did that which was right in the Eyes of the Lord, and turned not aside from any thing that he commanded him, all the days of his life, save only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite. And we are farther to remember, That, for that too, he had Repent before the Composure of this Psalm. And Repentance, when sincere, restores to God's Favour and Acceptance, as if we were Innocent. Thirdly, For the Prayer or Invocation itself, that must be the Exercise of all sorts of Graces, and not the Labour of our Lips only. But, Isa. 29.13. more especially, this Holy Incense must have these following perfumes in it. (1) It must be with Humility and Reverence. With Humility, in a deep sense of our Unworthiness and Distance from God, as Creatures, but much more as Sinners. No one loves a proud Beggar. Jam. 4.6. 1 Pet. 5.5. Such God is said to look on afar off: But he giveth Grace, showeth Favour to the Humble. Psal. 9.12.— 10.17. ●b 22.29. He heareth the desire of the Humble, and will not forget their Cry, but will save them. And then there must be a Reverence to That Majesty which we approach unto. That is a Due, we know, to all our Betters. [See Malachi 1.8.] Let us therefore have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably, Hebr. 12.28. with reverence and godly fear. (2) With Faith. Heb. 11.6. Without Faith it is impossible to please God; for he that cometh unto God, must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. So St. James directs. If any of you lack Wisdom, let him ask of God, Jam. 1.5, 6. who giveth to all men liberally; but let him ask in Faith, nothing wavering: where yet Faith seems to import rather a steadfast adhering to the Christian Profession, See Dr. H. in loc. than a General Belief of God's Being, Attributes, or Promises. (3) With Sincerity. Not out of feigned lips, Psal. 17.1. or Lips of Deceit; but in Truth. The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, 145.18. to all that call upon him in Truth, or Faithfully. And this is that which the Prophet Isaiah expresseth by calling on God with all the heart. Then shall ye call upon me, Isa. 29.12. and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you; and ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. And St. Paul styles it, Calling on the Lord out of a pure (that is, 2 Tim. 2.22. an honest and upright) heart. (4) With Zeal and Fervency. For it is good always, Gal. 4.18. saith the Apostle, to be zealously affected in a good matter: But he that asks coldly, teacheth another to deny his Requests. We can never think or hope, that God will attend to those cold and drowsy Prayers, which we hardly attend unto, or mind ourselves in the utterance of them. 'Tis the fervent Prayer of a righteous man that availeth much. Our Blessed Saviour speaks a Parable, to learn us the Force of Importunity, both with God and Man, St. Luk. 18. We are to pray as those that are in good earnest, and sensible of the Great Concerns we call upon him about; and therefore to excite and stir up all the Powers of our Souls thereunto, that we be not among Those, of whom the Prophet complains, There is none that calleth upon thy Name, Isa. 64.7. that stirreth up himself to take hold on Thee. (5) With Charity; for without This we are nothing, 1 Cor. 13.1, 3. and nothing profits us. But Blessed are the merciful, Matth. 5. for they shall obtain mercy. With the merciful Thou wilt show thyself merciful, saith our Psalmist. Psal. 18.25. But he shall have Judgement without mercy, Jam. 2.13. who hath showed no mercy; With the same measure we meet to others, God will measure to us again. And therefore he saith, Give and it shall be given to you. Luk. 6.38. Forgive and it shall be forgiven. But if ye forgive not, neither will your Heavenly Father forgive you. If thou bring thy gift to the Altar; go thy way, first be reconciled to thy Brother, etc. Prov. 21.13. Whoso stoppeth his ears at the Cry of the Poor, he also shall cry himself, and shall not be heard. (6) We must continue our Importunity with Perseverance, without Fainting and growing weary; not contenting ourselves with having once petitioned, Psal. 25.5.37.7.86.3, etc. 123.2. but following on our Suit, and waiting patiently still upon God from day to day, until he have Mercy upon us. To this purpose our Blessed Saviour spoke a Parable, That men ought always to pray, Luk. 18. and not to faint. And yet, (7) We must pray with a due Submission of ourselves unto God's Will and Wisdom, not confining him to any particular ways or methods of our own devising. Permits ipsis expendere Numinibus, Quid Conveniet nobis rebusque sit utile nostris. Remarkable was the Resignation of King David's Spirit unto God Almighty's pleasure. If I shall find favour in the eyes of the Lord, 2 Sam. 15.25, 26. he will bring me again,— but if he Thus say, I have no delight in Thee; behold here am I, let him do to me as seemeth good unto him. 'Tis the Petition our Blessed Saviour hath taught us, Thy will be done; and such was his own Example to us: Father, if it be possible let This Cup pass from me. Nevertheless not what I will, (not as I will) but Thy will be done. We must own that God is Righteous in whatsoever befalls us, and be ready to apologise for his Providence. 'Tis of his Mercy alone that we are not consumed, and our only Hope is, That his Compassions fail not. (8) We must be sure that we tender up our Requests unto God in the prevailing Name of Jesus Christ, his Beloved Son, our Great and only Highpriest, Mediator and Advocate; by whom we have received the Atonement, and who ever liveth to make intercession. Dan. 9.17, 18. Not for our Righteousness, saith the Prophet Daniel, but for the Lord's sake; [Propter Christum, as Castalio there notes,] so we are taught to conclude all our Prayers. The Direction and Encouragement comes from our Blessed Saviour himself: Joh. 14.13, 14. Whatsoever ye shall ask in my Name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my Name, I will do it.— Do all therefore in the Name of Jesus Christ, Col. 3.17. saith the Apostle, giving thanks to God and the Father by him. Lastly, Our Prayers must be followed with suitable Endeavours. We must not only Ask, but seek and knock too; that is, inquire after the most probable and likely Means, and be diligent and industrious to remove the Impediments in our way; Mr. Hooker's Serm. in the end of Bishop sanderson's life. as a Reverend Person ingeniously Glosseth on Those words. We must be like the Good Pilot, that hath his hand to the Helm, as well as his Eye to Heaven. We must not be lazy and idle Petitioners; like the Countryman in the Fable, that contented himself barely with crying out to Hercules to help him out of the mire. Remarkable is That of Nehemiah: Nehem. 4.9. Nevertheless we made a Prayer unto our God, saith he, and set a Watch against them, (the Enemies) day and night because of them. 'Tis an excellent Rule of Hierocles: [〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉,] In Pythag. What we endeavour, let us pray for; and what we pray for, let us also endeavour. There must be all along, saith he, [〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉,] an union of Prayer and Endeavour; we must neither be for [〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉,] an Atheistical and Godless or graceless Endeavour, nor [〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉,] an Idle and inoperative Prayer. Now having said thus much of the General Qualifications, which must accompany our Calling upon God, to render it successful: Let me yet annex Two more, that are very proper to our public Devotion: And so our Prayers will still be the more prevalent, if attended (1.) With Fasting. And, (2) With Unanimity. First, Fasting is to be added unto Prayer, both as a Means to render us more attentive and fervent in the same, and as a Testimony of our Humiliation before God in the Confession of our Sins, and judging our selves- unworthy to be any longer sustained in Life by God, chastening and afflicting our Souls in his presence, by voluntary Penance, for our manifold Transgressions and Excesses. There are some Devils not to be cast out, Mat. 17.21. but by Prayer and Fasting, as our Blessed Saviour acquaints us. And we may well reckon the Devil of cruel Treachery and Perfidiousness in that number. This hath been the constant way of the Church of God in all great Exigencies, by Fasting together with Prayer to call upon God, as you may read in Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Isaiah, Daniel, etc. Turn ye to me, Joel 2. saith the Lord by his Prophet Joel, with all your heart, and with Fasting, and with Weeping, and with Mourning; and rend your Heart and not your Garment, [that is, not your Garment only. Let there not be only the external signs of Humiliation and Mourning, but the Thing signified by them; both Sign and Thing signified together;] who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a Blessing behind him? [This, to be sure, is the likeliest way of speeding:] He adds therefore, Blow the Trumpet in Zion, sanctify a Fast, call a solemn Assembly; Gather the People, sanctify the Congregation, assemble the Elders: Gather the Children, and those that suck the Breasts: Let the Bridegroom go forth of his Chamber, and the Bride out of her Closet: Let the Priests the Ministers of the Lord weep between the Porch and the Altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O Lord. Where we find, That the Fast must be general, when we call upon God for a General Blessing; and all that are concerned in the Effect, should be also in the Means to it. And whatever some vain people judge of the needlesness or Indifference of Fasting, God takes it extremely ill, if any under public Calamities comply not with this Prescription. In that day, saith the Prophet, Isa. 22.12, 13, 14. did the Lord God of Hosts call to weeping and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with Sackcloth; and Behold Joy and Gladness, slaying Oxen and kill Sheep, eating Flesh and drinking Wine.— And it was revealed in mine ears by the Lord of Hosts, surely This iniquity shall not be purged from you, till ye die, saith the Lord God of Hosts. Secondly, We are to call upon God with Consent and Unanimity, that we may be as joint Supplicants, besieging Heaven, as it were, with an holy Violence in our united Importunities for Mercy. So the Prophet Zephaniah hath it, Zeph. 3.9. That they may call upon the Name of the Lord, to serve him with one consent, or with one shoulder. And thus we read of the Primitive Christians; Act. 2.1. They were all [〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉,] with one accord in one place. And, when St. Peter was in Prison, Ch. 12.5.12. Prayer was made without ceasing (or instant and earnest Prayer was made) of the Church unto God for him.— Many were gathered together Praying. To such Assemblies now, as These, that Promise of our Blessed Saviour reacheth with Advantage: Mat. 18.19, 20. I say unto you, that, if Two of you shall agree on Earth touching any thing that they shall ask,— For, where Two or Three are gathered together in my Name, there am I in the midst of them. Much more then, where there are many Two's and Three's, a whole Nation at the same time upon their knees together (if other requisits are not wanting) may they be sure of obtaining that thing, which they ask in particular, or somewhat better in the room of it. This is the advantage of public and common Prayers, (〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Ignatius) calling upon God in and with his Church, that he would send both King and People help from his Sanctuary, and strengthen them out of Zion. Psal. 20. And thus much now for the second point, the Duty or Practice here resolved upon, calling upon the Lord, with those several qualifications which will render it most effectual and successful. It remains in the Third place, that I add a few words also of the special Character annexed unto the object of our Psalmists invocation, Who is worthy to be praised. I will call on the Lord who is worthy to be praised. The word is capable of a double rendering, Who is worthy to be praised, or whom I praise. And accordingly Expositors render it differently; but both ways to a purpose very fit to be observed diligently by us [lxxii. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in 2 Sam. 22. but here, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, and the Lat. accordingly, Invocabo Dominum laudabilem vel laudatum: & laudans invocabo.] (1) I will call on the Lord, who is (Omni laude dignissimus) worthy of all Praise; the most lovely Object of Veneration. And so it trains us up to the highest thoughts of that Adorable Object we call upon. Worthy to be praised, is the Sum and Abstract of all his Perfections together; and therefore prompts us to Approach unto him with Good and Valuable Thoughts of him: not as a cruel Tyrant, delighting in his Creatures Miseries and Torments: not as an hard Master, withholding from his Servants, more than is meet; but a most Gracious Lord, as willing as he is able to Help and Relieve us; a most Indulgent Father, as far above all Earthly Parents in Wisdom, Power, goodness and readiness to hear, and supply his children's wants, as Heaven is above Earth. And here I might observe to you farther, that it is the Holy Prudence of Pious Men, frequently exemplified in Sacred Writ, to call upon God under such Appellations, Titles, or Attributes as are most agreeable to the matter of their present Petition, and fittest to Animate and Encourage their Hopes of receiving from him. So doth the Psalmist here in effect, I will call on the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, viz. as for his Power and Wisdom and Goodness at all times, so for his abundant Mercy, which I have already had a frequent experience of, etc. (2) I will call upon him, whom I also praise, tendering up my Thanksgivings for mercies already bestowed, while I offer up afresh Petitions for renewed favours from him; and thus gathering encouragement, from what I have already received, to continue my Dependence cheerfully upon him, and Faith in him for the future. There is a great consent of Interpreters this way. I will praise the Lord and call upon him. So the Arabic. In a Song or Hymn I pour out Prayers. So the Chaldee. See Dr. H. & Vicars Decapl. in Loc. I will call upon him with Praises. So R. Sol. Praising him with Prayers. So Apollinarius. i e. joining of Praises and Requests, Doxologies and Litanies together. When I shall have praised him first for his past Benefits, I will then call upon him for those yet to come. So a Latin M. S. Having celebrated the Lord with these Encomium's, (viz. of the precedent Verse) I will now call upon him. So Clarius. Invocabo laudatum. I will call upon him being praised, that is, in a Poetical Phrase, Dr. H. I will first praise him, and then call upon him. He signifies hereby, as Mr. Calvin Notes, [preces suas laudibus mistas fore] That his Prayers shall be mingled with Praises and Thanksgivings, according to that of the 116 Psalms, I will take the Cup of Salvation, and call upon the Name of the Lord, Vers. 13. And again, Offer the Sacrifice of Thanksgiving, and call on the Name of the Lord, Vers. 17. So is the Apostolical Direction. Phil. 4.6. In every thing by Prayer and Supplication, with Thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. We are at the same time to testify both our Gratitude and Dependence; and Thankfulness for what we have received, is one effectual way of obtaining what we want. I will therefore call on the Lord with a grateful acknowledgement of his former Goodness, gathering encouragement from thence still to continue my Petitions unto him, who hath already so well deserved of me. The Mercies he hath vouchsafed me hitherto are not only so many Essays of his power and readiness to relieve me, Dr. H. Par. but also so many Pawns and Pledges for the future; and therefore to my Songs of Praise I cheerfully add my most Humble and Earnest Requests: And, thus doing, never fail of a Gracious return from him. Which leads us to the second part of the Text, namely, the Psalmist's motive to his Resolution and Practice from the assured good success of it. So shall I be safe from mine Enemies. And this I shall little more than gloss upon. Be mine Enemies never so Potent and Formidable; for Multitude, never so many; an Host of Devils and Sons of Belial; for Power, never so strong; for Malice, never so spiteful and cruel; for Policy, never so cunning; in their Assaults, never so violent; in their Confederacies, never so combined; in their Plots, never so secret: I shall, nevertheless, be saved from them all, and remain secure by the Divine interposure on my behalf. Dwelling in the secret place of the most High, Psal. 91. I shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. There shall no Evil befall me, neither shall any Plague come nigh my Dwelling: for he shall give his Angels charge over me, to keep me in all my ways. He will Answer me, whensoever I call; will be with me in Trouble; will Deliver and Honour me; with long life will he satisfy me, and show me his Salvation. All Salvation is of the Lord, and he hath a peculiar regard in his saving Providence unto Kings. Psal. 144.10. It is He that giveth Salvation unto Kings, that delivereth David his Servant from the hurtful Sword. And the like Acknowledgement we have in the close of this 18th Psalm. Great Deliverance giveth he to his King, and sheweth Mercy to his Anointed, to David and to his seed for ever. [Even the succession of Anointed one's, the whole race of Kings throughout all generations.] St. Chrys. Liturg. They are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 preserved by him, by whom they Reign. But yet God expects to be sought unto by them too; that they own and acknowledge their need of his Help, and put themselves into a capacity of receiving it, in the most becoming posture, from him. That therefore is the Ground of the Psalmists Resolution, I will call on the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be safe from mine Enemies. And, that we may all, in a proportion, gather the like encouragement unto this Duty of calling upon God in our Distresses and Troubles, we are to remember, that he is styled in general, Psal. 65. The hearer of Prayers, unto whom all Flesh therefore is to come; that he hath bid us Ask, Seek, Knock, with promise that he who asketh shall receive; and he that seeketh shall find, and to him that knocketh it shall be opened: That He hath assured, If we who are Evil know how to give good Gifts to our Children, much more will He, our Heavenly Father, give Good things to them that ask him. Whosoever shall call on the Name of the Lord shall he saved; saith the Prophet Joel, Joel 2.32. Act. 2.21. Rom. 10.13. and it is thrice quoted for Confirmation in the New Testament. And the promise refers to as black and dismal Times, as we can well imagine, viz. such as attended the Siege of Jerusalem by the Romans. When there were the dreadful Appearances of Blood and Fire, and Pillars of Smoke, the Sun turned into Darkness, and the Moon into Blood; even the great and terrible Day of the Lord come upon them. Nevertheless, in these circumstances, the promise is left. Whosoever shall call on the Name of the Lord, shall be Delivered. And for our farther Confirmation as to the public invocation of God, with the Congregations of his Saints in his Holy Temple, we may cast our Eyes on the several passages of King Solomon's Prayer at the Dedication of the Temple, the House of Prayer which God himself testified his Acceptance of. Harken then, 1 Kings 8. saith he, unto the Supplication of thy Servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray towards this place, and Hear thou in Heaven, and Forgive and Do, that all the People of the Earth may know thy Name to fear thee, as do thy People Israel, etc. We under the New Testament, to be sure, are nothing short of them in real Privileges; nay, God hath reserved some better thing for us. For, though we have not their Temple, yet we have their God as near unto us in all that we call upon him for; we have the Holy Spirit, whereby we cry Abba Father, making intercession within us; and we have a most powerful Advocate at God's right hand, Jesus Christ the righteous, by whom we may come with Confidence to the Throne of Grace, Hebr. 4.16. that we may obtain Mercy and find Grace, [〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉,] for our most seasonable Relief in the time of need. And now I have, with what brevity I could, run over the Text: It remains, that I apply it also briefly to the occasion of our present Assembly; which I shall best do by giving you first a short Account of Those sad and troublesome Circumstances, we are involved in; and then exhorting and encouraging of you together with myself, to practise according to this good example set before us. But First, it will be requisite for us to see and take notice of our Danger. An execrable Plot is by God's Gracious Providence discovered and brought to light (whereof the King himself hath given notice to the Parliament, and the Parliament upon such witness as they had before them, have agreed to declare their Belief of it.) An execrable Plot, I say, to take away his Majesty's Life, subvert the Government we live under, and that Protestant Religion which we profess; And This Plot long in laying, and by the Complication of many Interests designed at last to be brought to its Effect, through the Combination both of Foreign Powers and Domestic Treachery. A Plot, wherein we have the Venom and poison of all former Plots in their Quintessence put together, and which, in its execution, was like to have been attended with a General Massacre. A Plot, wherein our Adversaries said, They shall not know, neither see, Nehem. 4. till we come in the midst among them, and slay them. And indeed they had found us altogether naked. We had been left without all manner of Protection and Defence, All Commissions expiring with the King's Life; and the chief places of Trust and Importance both in Church and State predisposed of to our sworn Enemies. A Plot, the Discovery of which they sought to have prevented or discountenanced at its first appearance, by the horrid Murder of an Eminent Patriot employed in the search after it. The Persons concerned are all Romish Agents, Priests and Jesuits, and others of that Communion, abetted with Foreign Powers, as I said, who are Enemies both to our State and Religion. These our Enemies are extremely formidable in their Number, their Malice, their Cruelty, their Confederacy in Mischief against us, so linked together, that it will be hard to make a full Discovery of them. Such they are as stand accused for having had an hand in most of those public and Tragical Calamities we have, ever since their defeated Powder-plot, groaned under. And, That which is most execrable, they act all in the Name of God, under a colour and pretence of Religion, and by virtue of the Principles of that Romish Faith, which baptizeth Rebellion, Faction, Sedition, Parricide and Murder by an holy Name and Title. They look on us all as a Body or pack of Heretics, unfit to live, with whom no Faith or Fealty at all is to be kept, and whom it is but an Act of Penance, nay, of Merit, to sacrifice upon every Occasion, with the utmost hazard, for the promotion of what they miscall the Catholic Cause. This is the sum of our Case; and, the greatest mischief is, we yet see not into the bottom of this Damnable Contrivance against us; only are left to guess, if a little Fire is able to kindle a mighty Conflagration, how dismal and amazing Flames so many Incendiaries at work are likely to produce, if not timely found out and prevented. Psal. 64. They encourage themselves in an evil matter; They commune of laying Snares privily; They say, Who shall see? They search out iniquities; The inward thought of every one of them and the heart is deep. Now let us in the next place, I beseech you, take notice, what great reason we have to bless God Almighty, and to praise his Name, that This, so Hellish a Plot, is so far discovered already, instead of being made known to us only by the fatal Execution of it. The God, we This day call upon, is Worthy to be praised, and to be for ever praised by us, that he hath hitherto prevented, and brought to light This Diabolical Wickedness in so many Tracks and Footsteps of it. That He hath Thus far protected and preserved our most Gracious King and all his Loyal Subjects, in the freedom and profession of the True Protestant Religion, against them that, from the Youth up of our Reformation, have troubled us. The Wisdom and Goodness of Divine Providence is particularly to be adored by us, that what they meant and designed for a Terror to all, and so to quash the Discovery of This Cursed Plot, (the Murder I mean of his Majesty's Justice employed about Examinations,) hath been turned by God into the hopeful means of awakening others to inquire into it, and thereby to make known their most impious and detestable Villainies. We are to praise God further, that he hath put it into the Heart of our Gracious Sovereign, upon this occasion, to summon us all together jointly to Call upon God, who alone can save us, for his Blessing upon these sinful and miserable Kingdoms; and to furnish us with so excellent a Form of Confessions, Doxologies, Lessons and Prayers for the present purpose. That he hath inclined his Heart, in This Juncture, to give all the assurance that can be had from a Religious Prince to a Loyal People, of his Majesty's Care and Zeal for the Protestant Interest, and the Security of it, not only during his own desired and happy Reign, but under all that shall hereafter succeed him to the World's end. And now it remains, that we stir up and encourage ourselves and one another to Call upon God for the Time to come, both for his merciful Protection of our Gracious Sovereign, and in him of all his Loyal Subjects; and for his Direction and Blessing in order to the farther Discovery and defeating of all these cursed Projects: To seek unto God, Job 5. and commit our Cause unto him, who doth great things and unsearchable, marvellous things without number; who setteth upon high those that be low, that they who mourn, may be exalted to safety. We have good Warrant and Example set before us, as you have heard, in Holy Scripture for our Imitation. Such as That of David in the Text; and that of Nehemiah read in the First Lesson for this Morning Service. And we have the awakening Motive of our great Perils and Dangers to spur us on to follow these excellent Precedents. We have not only our own personal Interest lying wholly at stake, but That of our Families, nay, That of our Child's Children, and Posterities in all Ages yet to come; That, I should have said in the First place, of the Glory of God in the Continuance of the profession of True Religion among us, to urge us hereunto. Let us therefore be excited, I beseech you, with one consent to put our Shoulders to the work, with all Humility and Reverence, Fervency and Earnestness, Faith and Importunity to call upon God in the Name of his dear Son, that we perish not; to call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised; who hath already done so great things for us, (wherein we rejoice, and for which we praise him:) That he would yet continue to be Merciful and Gracious unto us and to our Land: That He would shelter our most Religious and Gracious King Charles under the wings of his Good Providence, and by the Guard of his Angels, from the bloody hands of Ishmael, Jer. 41. from the Sons of Violence, from the Approach of all manner of Evil: That he would manifest and bring to light the hidden works of Darkness, that They and Their Religion, and who are Abetters of them may be brought unto open shame and infamy: That He (who is never at a loss for ways and methods of bringing his counsel to pass, and can make the most despised and contemptible means effectual to humble the proud and mighty) would in This time of our need, perplexity and trouble stand up and appear for our Rescue and Deliverance: That He would disappoint the Devices of the Crafty, Job 5. so that their hands may not be able to perform their enterprise: That he would take the wise in their own Craftiness, and carry the Counsel of the froward headlong: Psal. 64. That he would shoot at them with his arrows, and make their own Tongue to fall upon themselves; so that all who see them, may fear, and declare the work of God, wisely considering of his doing: That he would cause them to be ensnared in those very Traps they have laid for others, and make them either the Executioners of their own Ruin, as he did the Seditious and Rebellious Absalon, or bring them to the Gibbets, 2 Sam. 18. designed by them for the Innocent, as he did the powerful and revengeful Haman: That, Esther 7. as of his preventing Grace and Goodness he hath mercifully begun to Discover and make them to Fall, so he would vouchsafe to perfect This work of Mercy to us, in their hearty Conversion and Repentance, if it may be, or in their utter Confusion. And, that we may succeed in these our Prayers unto God, let us, I beseech you, Humble ourselves deeply and sincerely in his presence for all our former Sins, whereby we have provoked him to Anger and Displeasure against us. Let us turn unto him with Fasting, and Weeping and Supplication, turning from all our Transgressions, which we this Day make Confession of; in particular our monstrous Ingratitude unto God Almighty for all the Miracles of his Mercy and Goodness towards us: our ill Returns and Requitals of all his signal Benefits from time to time conferred upon us. Unless we are thus truly Penitent for our Sins past, and reconciled to God's Favour, we are not fit Mediators for ourselves or others in this Trouble and Distress. Nay, instead of Atoning God Almighty, and procuring Mercy from him, we partake with the Enemy in bringing down his Curse upon us, and the Society whereof we are Members. They are therefore Rebels and Traitors, so far, to their King and Country, who refuse this Day to Humble themselves under God's mighty Hand, and so to turn unto him, and to seek his Face; or, who allow themselves in the Practice of that Wickedness, whereby they may farther provoke Heaven against us; or who, Ahaz-like, 2 Chron. 28.22. In the time of this Distress Trespass yet more against the Lord. But if we Confess and Forsake our Sins, we are in the certain way to obtain Mercy; Mercy for ourselves, and Mercy for the Land of our Nativity; Mercy for this present Generation, and Mercy for that which is to follow. We may then be admitted to call upon God with grounded hopes of his grace and favour towards us. We have then Encouragement to depend upon Him and expect a Blessing from Him, as the success of this Days performance. For all things are naked and open to his Allseeing Eye, and none can dig so deep as to hid their Counsels from him: and his Hand can reach them too, wheresoever they are; his Power is infinite. He is never to seek for ways and means to blast and defeat the most Malicious, and Politic, and Secret, and Combined Machinations of any in order to our Destruction. Nay, we may confidently rely upon his Word of Promise for it, that He will Hear and Answer us, and so we shall be safe from all our Enemies. Which God of his Infinite Mercy grant, for Christ his sake, etc. Amen. THE END.