The Righteous Man's Support.  
A SERMON preached before Her Majesty, On WEDNESDAY June 14th, 1693. BIENG The Day of the Monthly FAST.  
By R. LUCAS D. D. Vicar of St. Stephen's Coleman-street.  

Published by Her Maiesty's Special Command.   
LONDON: Printed for S. Smith and B. Walford, at the Princes Arms in St. Paul's Church-yard, 1693.   

Dr. LUCAS's SERMON preached before Her Majesty, On WEDNESDAY June 14th, 1693.  
BEING The Day of the Monthly Fast,   
PSALM CXII. 7. 
He shall not be afraid of evil tidings, his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord.  
THIS Psalm presents us with the Character and Blessings of a righteous Man: His Blessings, according to the style of the Old Testament, which we must exalt by the Spirit of the New, are Riches, Victory, long Life, a flourishing Posterity, an honourable and lasting Memory. His Character is made up of a Constellation of virtues; First the Fear of God as the Fountain and Principle of all the rest, then a delight in his Commandments, Discretion, Justice, Mercy, Beneficence, Bounty; and lastly, Faith or Confidence in God, which unites his Character and his Blessings together; for as it is described in my Text, I can hardly tell whether it partakes more of the one or the other, whether I ought to call it the virtue or the Happiness of the Righteous Man; He shall not be afraid, &c. In handling these words, I'll observe this Method.  
1. I'll make some Reflection upon the commonness and unavoidableness of Evil which is supposed in my Text, the righteous man not being exempt from Evil Tidings.  
2. I'll show you that the Favour and Patronage of God is the only Support and Comfort of Man against Evil. This is that which fortifies the righteous Man in my Text against Evil tidings, his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord.  
3. I'll conclude with an Exhortation to Righteousness, as that alone which can entitle us to the Favour of God, and warrant our Confidence in him.  
1. Of the commonness and unavoidableness of evil. Were there no sin to merit evil, no God, or none concerned to inflict it, yet considering the state and nature of this World, a wise man could not promise himself much from it. All things without us, are mixed, empty, uncertain, transitory, and we ourselves consist of mortal Bodies, and mutable Minds, Diseases infects the one, and Passions the other, so that error and ignorance, bastles and disappointments, losses, changes, sickness, death, reign every where, disquiet and disturb every state. But if we carry our thoughts a little further, if we consider what variety of Evils is necessary to exercise and train up virtue; to inform Man, and vindicate the Sanctity and Justice of God; If we look upon the World as the Theatre of God and Man, on which the Wise man too often acts his Mistakes and Follies, the Fool and Sinner his Lust, Rage, Avarice, Ambition, subtlety Cruelty, Hypocrisy, bigotry, and the like. And God delights to display his Wisdom, Power and Goodness in the various Scenes of Lovingkindness, Righteousness, and judgement, Jer. 9. If, I say, we consider all this, we shall be apt to wonder, why Evils are not more numerous and more grievous then they are. Man when full and at ease, when standing on an high, on heaps of Honours and Offices, Dignities and Preferments, is a proud, insolent, vain, sensual, unthinking thing; how many Disgraces, Mortifications, Revolutions, are necessary to make this poor Creature know God and himself, to make him humble, modest, wise and virtuous; a lively Image of this we have in the people of Israel, Isa. 2.7, 8. Their Land is full of silver and gold, neither is there any end of their Treasure; their Land also is full of Horses, neither is there any end of their Chariots. And what was the natural result of this, even what follows in the next words of the Prophet, Their Land also is full of Idols, they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made. And this was a wantonness not to be cured, but by afflictions; nor could any thing effectually convince them of the vanity of Stocks and Stones, or the need they stood in of the living and true God, but Calamities and Distresses. And as these are often necessary to convert a Sinner, so are they no less necessary to train up a Convert, and perfect even a Righteous Man; even these have their Dross, which cannot be purged but with sire; there is remissness in themselves, Connivance and Compliance with the sins of others; there is their Carnal Diffidence and Worldly politics; ah too too remote all from the Simplicity, the Zeal, and Faith of a Christian. In one word, good Men too often adhere too much to the World, and have too much fondness for the Interest and Ease of the Body, and are far from being sufficiently mortified to the Designs and Arts of the World, and therefore God finds himself obliged, ever and anon, to embitter their outward Comforts, to shatter those false Props they are apt to lean on, to embroil and entangle them in their Councils, that they may learn to cleave to him with a more perfect heart, and to live as becomes the Followers of Jesus, not by subtlety or sight, but Faith. For these and a great many other reasons judgement, as St. Peter observeth, doth sometimes begin at the House of God; and if so, what shall be the end of those that obey not the Gospel, if the righteous scarcely be saved, if they escape as through the fire, where shall the sinner and ungodly appear. A thought which ought very sensibly to affect our Souls this day. I am afraid, pray God it be without ground, that God may take up the same Complaint against this Nation now, which he did against Judea once, Ezek 5.6. She hath changed my judgments into wickedness more then the nations, and my statutes more then the countries that are round about her. I am afraid, in despite of all those Mercies God hath heaped upon us, in defiance of those advantages in Church and State we enjoy above our neighbouring Nations, if we be compared with them, we shall be found to equal the Luxury and Intemperance of one, the Pride and Vanity of another, to exceed the worst in Lust and Wantonness; and to complete all, 'tis doubted, whether we have not outdone ourselves in Inconstancy, Ingratitude, falsehood, Hypocrisy, Faction, and Divisions. May this be only a vain, tho' well-meaning jealousy? But if it be true, then I am sure, should God extinguish our Lust and Wantonness, by Plague and Pestilence, should he reduce our Pride and Luxury by Poverty and Famine, should he put an end to our Divisions, as he did once to Jerusalem's, by a Civil and foreign Sword ranging from North to South, should he finally suffer Persecutions, not to be paralleled in former Ages, to tare up by the Roots our Holy Religion, our Religion so scandalously betrayed, and abandoned by our Heats and Animosities, so vilely dishonoured and blasphemed by Sins and Immoralities too too National, all that we should have to say, would be, Righteous art thou O Lord, and just are thy Judgments. This is what our sins have deserved; this is what our contempt of Mercies hath provoked thee to.  
I have made these Reflections on the commonness and unavoidableness of Evil for these Reasons.  
1. That if God bless us with such an Issue of Affairs, as we have this day earnestly prayed for, our Gratitude may be enlarged, and the goodness of God, which we have so little ground to pretend to, may even melt us into humble Joys, holy Thanks, and devout Praises.  
2. To dispose us to modest and rational Expectations; to pass through crowds of Evils on the right hand and on the left, like Israel through the red Sea, when the Water stood on heaps on both sides, and not to be touched by them, seems to me the greater Miracle of the two: To hope therefore for an uninterrupted Success, to be willing to bear no Inconveniencies, to meet with no Disappointments, to grow discontented and mutinous if we be not presently placed out of the very reach of Evil, this is a petulancy, a wantonness, that becomes not Sinners, shall I say, no, not Men, not Mortals.  
Lastly, These Reflections serve to teach us, that, if Evils, and great ones too, be one time or other unavoidable, then 'tis the Wisdom and Duty of all, by an holy and upright Life, or by Repentance and Reformation to secure their Interest in the favour of God, for which is my second General.  
2. This alone is the Comfort and Support of Man against Evils.  
I need not prove that he can have no other. For what can he confided in, his Treasure? this may soon be exhausted, or it may awaken the Avarice and Ambition of a powerful Enemy, as Hezekiah's did the King of Babylon's, and so instead of being a Defence, prove the occasion of his ruin. Can he confided in power? alas he knows that when this is grown too big to fall by any other hands, it generally falls by its own. Can he finally confided in worldly Wisdom? alas a thousand unexpected Accidents, and unobserved latent Circumstances, across and frustrate this, and render the Achitophel's of this World not only unfortunate, but often contemptible too. Let not therefore the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might; let not the rich man glory in his riches: but let him that glorieth, glory in this, that he understands and knoweth God, that he is the Lord who executeth loving kindness and judgement upon the earth; for in these things I delight, saith the Lord, Jer. 9.23, 24. To promote which frame of Spirit, so acceptable to God, and advantageous to you, be pleased to consider these three or four things.  

1. He who is assured of the Favour of God, is free from the worst of Evils.  
2. God is able to support and reward his Servants.  
3. He's able to prevent the Evil which threatens them, or deliver them out of those they are in.  
4. He'l certainly do what is best for them.   
1. He who is assured of the Favour and Patronage of God, is thereby freed from the worst and greatest of Evils. To be abandoned here on Earth by the Divine Spirit, to be given up to sin and a reprobate sense, and after all to be cast into Hell, a Region of inextinguishable Flames; these are Evils which make men truly and eternally miserable; but 'tis our comfort these are Evils which only God can inflict; only an angry God can make us truly miserable. As to Man, what Zeba and Zalmunna said of Jether, judge. 8.21. As is the man so is his strength; may be applied to all the Sons of Men, his strength is trifling, and therefore his anger too. He's armed like peevish Wasps with buzz and little Stings, not like God with Thunder and fatal Bolts; and therefore his slight Wounds can only trouble and disquiet, not ruin us. For what can he do? His Tongue can wound our Reputation, or his Arm our Body; he can plunder and rifle us of our Estate and Fortune; He can deprive us of our Liberty, and of Life itself; not to take notice that he can do none of these things unless God permit. What doth all this amount to? He can wound our Reputation: i.e. he can fight with the Air; for Reputation is but popular Breath: he can fasten imaginary wounds upon an imaginary Man; for Reputation is generally nothing else but the Picture of a Man drawn by the Fancies and Opinions of the Vulgar. He can rob us of our Estates; that is, he can clear our way to Heaven of all that Rubbish which doth but trash and clog us in our Journey. He can deprive us of our Liberty; that is, he can confine us to the happy necessity of entertaining ourselves with wise and holy Thoughts, and of being entertained by heaven: Finally, He can kill the Body; that is, he can throw down these Mudwalls, which will be built up of Marble; he can deliver us from the Troubles and Evils of this Life, and sand us the speediest way into the Joys and Glories of a better. This is all vain Man can do. For no violence can wound the Soul, no Calumnies can blast our Innocence, or sully our Integrity; what we are, that we shall be, whatever Man represents us, no persecutions, no Alarms can rob us of the Peace of Conscience, and Joy of the Holy Ghost; no ravenous Hands can seize upon our heavenly Treasure; the Crown of Life is held fast by the right hand of the Almighty, and no force, no ambition can invade it. I will sum up this Argument in the words of our Saviour, Luke 12.5. And I say unto you my friends, be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do; but I'll forewarn you whom you shall fear, fear him who after he hath killed the body, hath power to cast into hell, yea, I say unto you, fear ye him. Were all this thoroughly fixed in the minds of Men, it would be an effectual means to extinguish selfishness, cowardice, and hypocrify, to awaken a necessary zeal for our Religion and Country, and to revive the honour of our Nation; for no Man who believes this will part with his Integrity to preserve or increase his Fortune, or sacrifice the favour of God to the fear of Man, or of any Evil whatever. Especially if he consider.  
2ly, That God is able to support and reward his Servants. Now God supports us various ways; partly by his gracious Promises, partly by dispensing Evils by such degrees, and with such a mixture of good, as not to suffer us to be oppressed and overwhelmed by them; and partly by fortifying us by his Spirit, in proportion to the danger and difficulty of the Conflict he calls us to. What the force and virtue of all this put together is, may be inferred from the Victories and Triumphs of good Men in all ages, over all sorts of afflictions, amid the Persecutions and Insultings of Enemies, the Ingratitude and Perfidiousness of Friends; in Poverty, Reproach, Imprisonment, Sickness, and Death itself, they have maintained their ground, preserved their Integrity, and appeared to all great and illustrious. A good Cause, and a good Conscience, are proof against all Calamities: The Sword of the Spirit, and the Shield of Faith, will sufficiently protect us against all the Darts and Onsets of the Enemy. I do not by all this imagine that the Trials of the righteous Man are voided of trouble and affliction, that his Contention is without sweat or toil, his Wounds without smart, or his heart utterly untouched by those Passions which harress and oppress others; but only that he's not broken nor dejected like the Sinner and Hypocrite; that he's never destitute wholly of inward Comfort, nor ever casts away his hope in God. Such is the Description the Psalmist gives us of his own Faith, or the state of his Soul under Trials: Nevertheless though I am sometimes afraid, yet put I my trust in thee. My heart and my flesh faileth me, but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever. Nor can it yet be denied, but that some times, such is the strength of Faith, such the transport of Love, such the confidence of Hope, such the luxuriancy and joy of the holy Spirit, that the pleasure of a good Man in the midst of his Sufferings, doth infinitely outweigh and exceed his Pain and Sorrow; but this I doubt is but a very rare Case: and therefore God puts us often in mind, that the Afflictions of this present moment, when he calls us to them, procure for us an eternal weight of glory: and our Saviour when he pronounceth those happy whom the World generally pronounceth miserable, doth it with an eye to their Reward: Blessed are ye poor, for yours is the Kingdom of Heaven: Blessed are ye that weep now, for ye shall laugh. rejoice and triumph to all Eternity. Blessed are ye when men shall hate you, and persecute you, &c. rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven. Good God! why should we fear that Evil which leads us to such an happy end, or rather why should we call it Evil, which recommends us to God's favour here, and greater degrees of glory hereafter. Methinks were we thoroughly persuaded of this, our heart, like the wise man's in Solomon, should choose to dwell in the house of mourning, and we should prefer the advantages of Afflictions before the slumbers of Peace, the softness and luxury of Wealth, or the false and empty glitterings of worldly power and glory, when destitute of virtue. But let me not be misunderstood, I have not magnified Sufferings, as if we were to be fond of them, when we may with a good Conscience decline them. Whoever throws himself upon Evils, when God points him out a way to escape them, deserts and betrays the Providence of God, forfeits all pretention to Divine assistance, and suffers like a Fool, not a Martyr. St. Paul when he wished his Auditors his Faith, did not wish them his Bonds too; and St. Peter, how warm soever his temper, how bold soever his Faith was, durst not throw himself upon the Waves, without his Master's express Command. Nor have I dwelled so long on the cloudy side of that Pillar, under whose Conduct I hope this Nation is this day, as if there were not a bright one too. No; my only design herein was to set the World in a good light before you, to invite you to wise and sober Thoughts, and equally to prepare you for every Fortune; for whoever can bear Adversity with courage and constancy, will enjoy Prosperity with modesty and moderation; he that is not dastardly and dejected under the one, will never be wanton and insolent, or forgetful of God in the other; and he whose Will is resigned up to God, whose Soul is humbly prepared to meet whatever Evil God in his wisdom, justice or goodness shall think fit to lay upon him, is not only best fitted for Success, but hath also the best title to it. Let us therefore pass on to the third Consideration.  
3dly, God is able to prevent impending Evils, or disperse the present; to doubt this is an approach towards Atheism: For to call into question God's Omnipotence, or Omniscience, is in effect to call into question his Being, since he cannot be God without both. But if he be Omnipotent and Omniscient, then it plainly follows, that he doth whatsoever he pleaseth in heaven and in earth; and no thought of his can be hindered. Nor shall we find it difficult to ascribe this to God, if we consider that he is without beginning, and gives beginning to all things: For from hence must follow these two things.  
1. That all the Power and Wisdom scattered through the whole Creation, if it could be combined and united, would bear no proportion to that which is originally and essentially in God, since all created Perfections are only some saint Reflections of the Divine Brightness, some thin sprinklings of his inexhaustible store.  
2. That all created Beings depend upon him, and are subject to his Will; when therefore he commands, The stars in their courses fight against Sisera, and the river Kishon sweeps them away. Fire, Hail, and Vapours, Storms and Tempests, Earthquakes and Inundations, Famine and Plague, Sickness and Death obey his Voice, the hearts of Kings, and the hearts of the Multitude too are in his hands, in vain therefore is Counsel, in vain is Strength against the Lord. He wants no Instruments to destroy, none to save. Thus have I briefly evinced the Omnipotence of God; if we consider the Exercise and Administration of it, God commonly governs by fixed and stated Rules, and effects his Designs by ordinary and usual means. Yet sometimes he takes pleasure in humbling the Proud, and rescuing the Distressed, by extraordinary and unaccountable ways; ways that bespeak God the Contriver of them; ways that are evident Demonstrations of a Divine Power and Wisdom. And as he doth this often by unaccomptable ways, so often at very unexpected times too; when the proud man is in the height of success and security; when the humble man hath nothing almost to expect, but a Miracle, nothing to trust to but an act of Omnipotence, then God breaks in with sudden ruin on the one, and deliverance to the other; and all this to extort from the World an acknowledgement of his Sovereignty and Providence, and to prevent insolence in the highest Condition, or Despair in the lowest. Need I imprint this on your Minds by Instances; Shall I trace Joseph from the Pit in the Wilderness, to the next place to Pharaoh on the Throne; Moses from his Ark of bulrushes to the Ark of the Tabernacle, where he spoken with God face to face; or the Son of Jesse from his Crook, to his sceptre: or shall I on the other hand, show you the great Assyrian Monarch boasting that he had dried up the Rivers of besieged places with the soles of his Feet, and threa●ning to cut down all the tall Cedars of Lebanon, with such like vaunts, and then in a moment a Bridle put into his mouth, and a Hook into his nostrils, and falling a Sacrifice in the house of his Idols? Antiochus breathing fire and ruin in his rage against Jerusalem, and then the next moment struck with a Disease, tumbled down headlong from his Chariot, and become the object of scorn and pity; his flatterers could not bear his stench, nor himself his pain. 'Twere endless to multiply Examples, not Sacred History only, but profane too abounding in them. Hence it is that the notion of an uncontrollable Providence universally possessed Mankind, Sacrifice and Prayer, Humiliation and Thanksgiving, were as frequent in the Pagan, as once in the Jewish, or now in the Christian World. Hence it is, that good men have expressed so much confidence and security amid a crowd of Dangers. For this is the natural Result of an assured Interest in the Divine Favour; the Exultancy of David seems to be the language of every righteous man, The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear; The Lord is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid:— when the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear. Though war should raise against me, in this would I be confident, Psal. 27.1, 2, 3. How lively a Notion doth this give us of the happiness of a righteous man; His Mind enjoys a Calm in that Scorm which threatens his Life and Fortune. His Soul possesseth itself in Security and Peace amid the Alarms and Dangers of War: happy surely is the man whose heart is thus established; others may be politic, this man alone is wise; others may be fortunate, this man alone is great. He's an imperfect Image of that God he trusts in; that God, who even when he makes Darkness his Pavilion, and thick Clouds round about him, is all Light himself; and in the midst of Lightnings and Thunders, Storms, Tempests, and Earthquakes, he's himself serene, calm, and undisturbed. But against all this it will be objected by some, We readily aclowledge the Power of God; we believe too that Righteousness entitles Man to his Favour; but, after all, this is not a sufficient ground of the confidence you talk of; for you must aclowledge too, that notwithstanding the Power of God, notwithstanding his regard for good men, the righteous man doth very often, not only suffer, but perish in his righteousness; and the wicked man doth prolong his life in his wickedness, and preserve and increase what he calls his Glory, by his Crimes and villainies. To this I answer, This doth indeed sometimes happen; but this will not much diminish the comfort of a righteous man, if what I have said before concerning his Support and Reward be well weighed; or if we consider,  
4ly, That God will certainly do what is best for those that serve him, and trust in him. The dispensations of Providence towards such shall ever be seasonable, ever beneficial: If Afflictions be necessary, these shall be their Portion. If Prosperity be useful, they shall have it, when they are prepared for it, when they are fit to enjoy it: for God's goodness is governed by unerring Prudence, and his Power influenced by infallible Wisdom. How great a Comfort, how great a Blessing is this to a poor Creature, who hath so short a prospect of things to come, and so little an insight into the present: Let us then but renounce our sins, let us but do good and trust in God, and then come what Events, what Times will, all things shall work together for our good; what is, or what shall be, is that which should be. Doth the Trumpet sound an Alarm to War, War is best; must Factions and Divisions embroil a State, even these like Thunder and Lightning shall but render the Air more clear, serene, and wholesome: Sion shall be redeemed with judgement, and her Converts with Righteousness, if it cannot be otherwise. But if another kind of Fortune, if Calm times, Success, and Victory, be the things which the Glory of God, and the Interest of his People require, these shall not be denied us neither. In a word; The Commission of God to the Prophet Isaiah is, I think, the standing Commission given to every Preacher of the Gospel in all times, let it be fulfilled in what sense God thinks fit; Chap. 3.10, 11. Say ye unto the righteous that it shall be well with him, for they shall eat the fruit of their doings. Woe unto the wicked, it shall be ill with him, for the reward of his hands shall be given him.  
This minds me of the third and last thing proposed:  
3dly, That is, to conclude all with an Exhortation to Righteousness. That God is the only Support against Evil, I have fully proved; and the wicked themselves disown it not; for in the day of their distress, they too seek the Lord: and nothing is more superstitious in Adversity, then such as are careless and confident, irreligious and profane in Prosperity; that Righteousness alone entitles Man to the Favour and Patronage of God, and warrants his confidence in him, I need not prove. This is the voice of Nature, the voice of the Law and the Prophets; and the Gospel is so far from canceling it, that it multiplies our Obligations to Righteousness. I will not therefore needlessly insist on the proof of this Proposition, but will in a word or two tell you, what I mean by Righteousness, and then show you how proper and becoming, how indispensible and necessary the practise of it is this day: By Righteousness I mean, in the Sinner, Repentance and Reformation, a ceasing to do evil, and a learning to do well.  
In the Regenerate I mean faithfulness, vigilance, and activity more then formerly in their station, an abounding this day more then at other times in the works of God, and an increase of zeal for his glory; how seasonable, how becoming is this in the present Juncture of Affairs; shall we who have on all occasions expressed so much tenderness for our Laws and Rights, contemptuously violate God's, and openly insult his Authority? shall we, who defend the Protestant Religion with our Swords, destroy it by our Lives? shall we, who profess a zeal for the Liberty of Europe, be so far from expressing any for true Christian Liberty, as not only not to contribute what lies in our power to the breaking the yoke, and shaking off the tyranny of Hell from the neck of others, but also tamely to submit our own to it?  
Nor is this Righteousness more becoming, then it is indispensible and necessary; for without this what are we to expect? God seems to have moved out of his place, and to have a controversy with Europe this day; our neighbour Nations drink deep of the Cup of his Wrath, and shall we escape without Repentance? Are our virtues so perfect, as not to need Chastisements? or our Vices so few, or so small, as not to call for Judgments? 'Tis therefore high time to begin the Work of Reformation, and to sacrifice the Sacrifices of Righteousness, and then we may put our trust in the Lord. But instead of this we are apt to flatter ourselves with I know not what; that Religion is professed amongst us in its purity; that it 'twas sown and cultivated in the Blood of Martyrs; that God will awake for his own sake, and his Truths sake, and pled our Cause, and that of Religion, with his and our Enemies. But may I not say to you as the Baptist did to the Jews, on a like occasion, when the Ax was laid to the root of the three, Think not to say in yourselves we have Abraham to our Father; verily I say unto you, God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. Though Earthquakes should sink this iceland into the Sea, yet the Church of Christ should stand upon a Rock, and the Gates of Hell should not prevail against it; and should this whole Nation turn Atheists or bigoted Papists, yet would God never want such who should worship him in Spirit and in Truth. If ever God could have been influenced by respect of Persons, surely it must have been towards the Jews; and yet how often, and irrecoverably too at last, was Jerusalem laid desolate, and that by the Idolatrous and Impious Heathen too? Jerusalem the Seed of Abraham, the Mother of Prophets, and once the residence of God himself, when he dwelled between the Cherubims, on the Mount of Sion.  
But you will say, We rest not here, we acquiesce not in any pretensions to extraordinary privileges, above other Nations; but we offer up to God Fasting and Prayer, and set apart days of Solemn Humiliation. 'Tis very well: But I must put you in mind, that Repentance must be joined with Fasting, and Reformation with Prayers, or else this will avail us little. 'Tis plain from several places in the Prophets, that the Jews were an hearing, praying People, at the same time when they were a disobedient one too; that they wearied God with their Sacrifices and their Fasts, at the same time that they wearied him with their sins too. And how God resented this, the Prophet Isaiah teacheth us, Chap. 1.13. Bring no more vain Oblations, Incense is an abomination to me; the new Moons and Sabbaths, the calling of Assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even your solemn Meetings. But will not the Prayers of righteous men avail much? They will: I would to God they were more, and that they were more united. But we have Prayers against Prayers, and Fasts against Fasts, as if we were come to that last and worst state of Jerusalem, when Jesus Christ himself could do no more for it, then weep over it Tears of Compassion and Despair: If thou hadst known, even now at last, the things which belong to thy peace, but now they are hide from thine eyes, Luke 19.42. But were the Hearts and Prayers of the few Righteous this day one and the same, yet you know, there is a time when the Provocations of a People are grown to that height, that though Noah, Daniel, and Job stood in the Gap and interceded, they should save none but their own souls. How far we are advanced towards this state, or whether we are arrived at it, I dare not pretend to judge: Only I must say, we have great reason to fear it; when we consider how many Judgments and how many Mercies have been lost upon us.  
And yet if this be our state, we have one Refuge, one Comfort left us; that where Intercession cannot, Reformation will prevail; where Fasting and Humiliation will not be accepted, there Repentance and Righteousness will.  
This is evident from plain Scripture; for in the very same Chapter, Ezek. 14. wherein God affirms, that when he shall enter into judgement with a Nation for its grievous Trespasses, Noah, Daniel, and Job should be able to save only their own Souls, by their Righteousness: yet verse 6. he exhorts the Jews to Repentance, as that which would be able to effect what Noah, Daniel, and Job could not. So Jer. xviii. 7, 8. God tells us in so many words, That at what instant I shall speak concerning a Nation, or concerning a Kingdom, to pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy; if that Nation against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil I thought to do unto them.  
Let us then think every one upon our ways, and turn our Feet to the Testimonies of God; let us by Prayers and Tears, Repentance and Reformation, rout our Enemies, disperse our Fears, guard the Throne, and support the Church: O that this might prove the blessed fruit of our solemn Fasts throughout the Nation this day, Reformation on our side, and Favour and Protection on God's!  
I should not then doubt, but that our Light should break forth as the Morning, and our Health, or Salvation should spring forth speedily; Then should Righteousness, i.e. e. Deliverance, go before us, and the Glory of the Lord should be our Reward; then should we call and the Lord would answer, we should cry, and he would say here I am.  
Then should Success wait upon our Councils, and Victory upon our Arms; Peace should be within our Walls, and Plenty within our Palaces; the Voice of Joy should be heard in our Streets, and upon all, our Glory there should be a Defence; and after all, all this should be but the foretastes of a more blessed State, and our Canaan but a pledge of Heaven. Happy are the people that are in such a case, yea blessed are the people who have the Lord for their God, Psal. 164.15.  
Now to God the Father, &c.  
FINIS.