Foelix scelus, Querela piorum, ET Auscultatio Divina; OR, Prospering profaneness provoking Holy conference, and God's Attention, in which you have The Happy estate of the wicked, The Holy exercise of the godly, The Hazard and event of both. Plainly propounded in sundry sermons preached at botolph's Algate London: and after contracted in two sermons preached in Peter's Church in West-Chester, July 17. 1659. Now published to the counsel and confirmation of the godly; and check of the false surmises and reports of the wicked. By ZACHARY CROFTON. Job. 1●. 5. He that is ready to slip with his feet, is as a Lamp despised in the thought of him that is at ease. ver. 6. The Tabernacles of the robbers prosper, and they that provoke God are secure, into whose hand God bringeth abundantly. Psal. 44.17. All this is come upon us: yet have we not forgotten thee; neither have we dealt falsely in thy covenant. Psal. 12.5. For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise saith the Lord, to set him in safety from him who puffeth at him. London, Printed for Tho. Parkhurst at the three Crowns a● the lower end of Cheapside, 1660. To the Right worshipful the Major, Bailiffs, and Burgesses of the ancient Corporation of Newcastle Underline in Staffordshire. Right worshipful and well beloved, AMongst my many friends, I have at this time made bold to prefix your names to this small tract: you have been my people, and I doubt not, but will be my patrons; you have already appeared my purgators from the reproaches, which heretical rage hath raised against me: yet that is not the end of this Dedication, the truth is Gods, and I doubt not his defence of it, and its Author, but to express my hearty affections towards you, I think I may say you know I love you: I hope to rejoice in many souls among you as seals of my Ministry: I cannot but let the world know, my Ministry afforded me most comfort among you; The Lord forgive the sin of such as divided between me and you, as my love is to you, my care is for you. A people you are obnoxious to temptation, & conversant in holy conference; & so sit for these instructions: you are subject to the same providences with other men, and no less apt to be swayed by them against divine precepts: your schismatical neighbours studying to seduce you, will (without doubt) ply you with the arguments of providence: and the lukewarmness to, and slighty recession from holy Ordinances of many among you; the Skepticisme of others who change their tune with the time and company, the separation already made by some, and the Errastianisme of others, making the Church no other than the Commonwealth in a religious dress, decked by the looking glass of the civil Magistrates mind: The attendance of the allegiance of some of you on whomsoever by a providence, though never so profanely can step into a chair of State; but especially the late discords which have fallen out between you and your Ministers, & the rather (for that as I have heard) your Town hall hath (though but for a time, and that it may be by connivance too) become a Chapel of contradiction to your Church, wherein the Lords day was spent in a different worship, to what you profess; cannot but make me fear, that you too much incline to dance after providence, beyond what God alloweth, & Scriptures doth direct: I must confess if providence must be our rule, universal toleration, nay, rather protection & propagation of schism, error, and heresy, must be our duty, but I would desire that you may know the providences of God may dispose our condition, but not direct our conversation. I would beg you, to approve yourselves obedient to Scripture precepts whilst observant of successful providences; as sensible that one divine direction will afford more comfort in evil times than all providential dispensations: notwithstanding therefore, your eyes see to the trouble of your souls, men of Atheism, & irreligion, perfidy & perjury, schism & sacrilege, subverting all civil Magistracy, supplanting Gospel order, blaspheming God's truth, and ordinances; making schisms in, and from Christ his Church; and setting up themselves by sinful projects, and violent intrusion into Church and State, yet prosper in this profaneness, tempting God by stout words and religiously espousing him by fasting & prayers unto their horrid impieties, and yet are delivered be you careful you do not admire providence into illogicall and irreligious conclusions: I would not darken any the dispensations of God to our Land, but wish that in our revolutions all men may read that God ruleth in the kingdoms of men, he pulleth down and setteth up by bis own sovereignty: but my work and endeavour is to direct men to the righ● husbanding of providence, that successful sin may not be lifted up, with the cry of sanctity, nor oppressed loyalty, justice, and piety, be dejected, despised, and disowned: We live in changing days, and therein great is the cry of providence the godly are censured for not dancing after providence into Jeroboams changes in Church and State: whilst palpable & positive profaneness is pleaded for as piety and generation-work of God: I pray you consider sad are the changes which are only defended by after providences: alteration may be of divine appointment, yet disowned by God, when effected by men's sinful accomplishments, they have set up Kings but not by me, saith God, in a case against which Israel must not fight, for this thing is from the Lord, 1 King. 12.21. Hos. 8.4. It will never content a gracious heart to attain an end of God's appointment, unless by means of God's approvement: anointed David, provoked by persecution, durst not cut his way to the throne, his heart smote him for cutting the lap of saul's garment, when providence put his head into his power. Jeroboam for catching a Kingdom by a providence beareth this brand, Jeroboam who made Israel to sin; better it is to wait on, & walk with God in affliction, then be the subjects of such providences, to wander with David in a wilderness till God clear the throne; then with Jeroboam by perfidy, sedition, & rebellion to rend away a Kingdom, and possess it themselves, though this condition be of divine appointment. But (beloved Sirs) that I may not too long parley with you at the threshold, shall I be bold in the name of the Lord to propound unto you some few duties to be done by you in such days of providence? shall I beg that in these evil times you will observe these four directions? 1. Propound the word, not providence of God as the reason of your faith and rule of conversation. This, not that, is appointed to this end: Jesus Christ by one providence might have made to himself many proselytes, yet would not allow it, but ever referred his hearers to Scriptures: the new lights of our age blaze much with providence but look you to the Law and the Testimony if any speak not according to this rule, there is no truth in him: Oh let not Christian faith be founded on Turkish reason. 2. Persevere in truth and piety, Heresies must come, that they who are sound may be made manifest; Schism must succeed, that the fixed in Christ may be found sincere: these must not only come on the the stage; but stand and succeed; it may be unto persecution of the Orthodox and sound; as did Arrianisme in the Grecian Empire, & Anabaptism in Germany, they are no other than trials of faith and patience: be it your care to cleave to truth, when disowned and disregarded: and continue in the Church, though disordered and discouraged: let not the boisterous blasts of providence remove you from your steadfastness in the faith, or union of the Church Catholic. I know the design of some schismatical neighbours, by courting, nay some of them by creeping into your town is to paganize you, (as they have done other places) and set up their own schismatical assemblies; and I fear your over affectionate observation of the providential rising of some from you, hath been as a snare of separation from the Church unto more than natural relations: but however Church gatherers have gathered the power & treasure of these Nations to themselves: forsake not you the assembling of yourselves together, as the manner of some is, and stand out against the sinful assembling of Church gatherers: The glittering glory of particular Churches of selfe-constitution (that way of Corah) and self consecration (that way of Jeroboam) will prove, nay I may say doth prove an ignis fatuus, leading into the fools paradise of high expectations, but leaving men in the wilderness of confusion. They that feared God in Israel followed the despised and driven out Priests to Jerusalem; let it be your prayer & care not to follow the flocks of Christ his pretended companions, I pray you recall to mind what instructions I gave you many years since from that Text Cant. 1.7. & whilst you have power prevent Congregational foxes from spoiling your vines, though you cannot keep them out of close corners, you may from places of concourse, and command them out of your common Hall, and public places of assembly, give them no countenance whose only errand is confusion: you are now a Church of Christ become not the guilded Synagogue of Satan. Will not reason tell you selfe-constitution is a sedition in the Commonwealth and schism in the Church? Is authority essential to a civil, and not to a religious Corporation? What superstructure can be built on a sinful schismatical foundation? judge ye: though it flourish fly from it, it cannot but fall: I say be you stable in truth, steady in the union of the Church, constant to God's covenant, and continuing in prayer, though God carry discouragingly towards his people: for God laughs the Devil to scorn, when Job serveth him for nought: and the Saints constancy in holiness doth witness that there is a reward to the righteous, when the prospering providences of the profane do suggest, it's in vain to serve God. 3. Prize and preserve among you a sound and zealous Ministry, such you have enjoyed, such you may (by your own advantages which you above other Towns) enjoy, Pastors to feed witb knowledge and understanding, are God's promises and his people's privilege, bread and water of affliction to be embraced before their removeall: let not the general contempt providence poureth on Ministry, deaden your affection to your Ministers; but know them as over you in the Lord: I am not a little grieved for your late differences with godly Ministers; I wish you would seriously survey your souls, see wether some spirit of pride, passion, prejudice, or vain glory, do not act and occasion them: take heed you jar not with Ministers, until you wreak your quarrel on Ministry; I wish some of you have not already proclaimed open war: I will not acquit your Ministers from their infirmities; but desire you take heed to yourselves; in this day of discouraging providences to God's Ministers; true piety should prise & prefer them: so evil are the times that dis-satisfaction in a profane Minister can scarcely pass without the censure of disrespect to Ministry; much less when fomented & continued against a man who is a faithful, painful, and diligent (and in the general course of his life, let malice say its worst) a godly Minister: my beloved, let the office and person be distinguished, and the dignity of the one will darken and cloud the infirmity of the other; and the authority of the one will awe duty denied to the weakness of the other. Receive Ministers as they are indeed the messengers of the Lord of Hosts, & Ambassadors of Jesus Christ, and then despise them even in their distress if you can: 4. Pursue your conference and manage it with all prudence, avoid the evils incident to it, pursue the directions herein propounded: you have heretofore been acquainted with them but have need to be put in remembrance: take heed of spiritual pride in conference, lest it prove an Audley conference that may plunge you into the precipice of Anabaptism, and other heresies: my heart bleeds over those men with whom you know I have sometime past had sweet communion though they will not now hear me, be warned by their example. Be careful of, and constant in these and other duties directed in the word, what ever men say or cross providences seem to suggest: Let Ecebolius whirl about with every wind of providence in the Empire, until he proclaim the shame of his own unconstancy; be you pillars of truth, and Cedars of holiness, standing in stormy days, as indeed rooted and built up in Christ, and resolved into divine revelation as your rule, however disposed by providence as to your present outward condition: whereunto that you may be strengthened, read these notes as helpful, and offered from the hearty affections, and with the hearty prayer for God's blessing, of your Quondam Pastor, yet zealously affectionate for the good of your souls ZAC. CROFTON. from my Study in botolph's Algate Lon. Nou. 3. 1659. To the Reader. Courteous Reader, I Did many months since, begin this discourse unto my own Congregation, intending chief to instruct them in the too much neglected and abused duty of Godly conference but finding the words so connexed that I could not eonveniently come at my intended doctrine until I had spoken to the condition which did constrain the godly, their speaking one to another. I divided the Text into three general heads to be discussed, and so intended them for particular instruction never to be made more public: but God who over-ruleth men's purposes hath otherways disposed: In June last I being called to preach at the morning exercise in Magdalen Milk-street Church took some of these notes as next hand, and did very briefly discuss the prosperous providences which do attend the profane. Such approbation it met with from many godly hearers, that I was pursued with great importunity to publish the same, yet I resisted and resolved they should never see the light: in July following my Domestic affairs did c●ll me down unto the since unhappy County of Chester, in the City whereof I was (by many friendly obligations and entreaties) engaged to preach one whole Lords day, and did discourse this same subject as most fresh in memory, because the very same on my thoughts in my ordinary course at home: what advantage any that are in that City godly and zealous for religion, have hence reaped they best know, what occasion they have to improve these instructions, we must shut our eyes if we will not see; shortly after my thus preaching did break out the late unhappy insurrection and did something retard my return home: I being absenct in such a juncture of time was by malice (to which I have been no little exposed) reported as engaged in the design, and highly noised to have preached before the body late in Arms in Westchester City. And this report was carried with that height of impudence that it gained credit among friends and foes: affrighted my poor family with proud threats: & exposed me to troublsome attendance on the late Committee for the Militia, and Council of State: before the last of whom a member of themselves offered to produce a Lieutenant who heard me preach and would on oath depose it was so and so circumstanced, as envy did desire: but when I demanded his appearance and testimony, and could not obtain it, I was brought under a promise of printing the sermons I did preach at Westchester: And thus the providence of God hath constrained them from me: I hope for good. It is very probable the matter and season may expose the preaching, and publishing these notes unto the censure of the Committee for discretion: which if it do, let me be rather blamed for indiscreet discovery of God's mind; then unfaithful silence, and dissembling divine truth, darkening precepts by providences; the sin of too many Prophets in our age and Nation: yet true prudence speaks words pertinent to present providences, wise men must oppose God's word to men's wickedness: and give counsel squared to condition; nor should danger divert or dismay them. Isaiah will cry aloud to tell Judah of her sin, though for it he fall under the saw: And Jeremiah will declare God's mind though it cast him into the dungeon: Michaiah must needs h●ve played the fool, if he had followed providence to the flattery of Ahab, as did all the other Prophets. However evil times of hatred against him who rebuketh in the Gate, and abhorrency of him that speaketh uprightly, may make the prudent (not bound by office) to keep silence: It must not do so to God's Ministers, whose office is to witness for God and piety when prospering profaneness proclaimeth God to be as the wicked, and that 'tis in vain to serve God: It is a man's prudence to do with vigour the duty of his place against all opposition, shall the providences of God be made the apology of sin, and so the stumbling block of the Saints, and the Ministers of God not make known the method and order of them? and the pleasure of the Lord that men cleave to his covenant though they be killed all the day long, and walk with him in worst times; that so the wicked may be convinced, and the weak be strengthened: the times of God's silence are the times of his Ministers speaking, when judgement is reprieved, the malefactor must be reproved: I could hearty wish guilt on men's consciences did not groundlessly charge indiscretion on God's Ministers and impertinency on God's Word: had not our eyes seen treason, rebellion, regicide, perfidy, perjury, pride, hypocrisy, and violence, break out into sad and sinful revolutions, to the utter subversion of foundations: violation of Laws, invasion of interests, destruction of liberties, trampling on truth, divastation of the Church, blasphemy of God, Christ, and his Ordinances; contempt of gospel-ministry, letting lose the Devil by a boundless toleration, and unparallelled wickedness and unspeakable confusion in Church and State: and that against all declarations, protestations, imprecations, solemn vows and Covenants, oaths, appeals, to God and men, even of all kind of civil or religious bonds: and had not our ears heard these boastings of properity and succe sfull providences; as undeniable demonstration of God's good liking and approbation, nay of God's very appointment and designation of these horrid impieties as the good old cause of his son's kingdom, and the proper work of his Saints; conducing much to his glory; blasphemously pleading providence against precepts provoking themselves to pursue and persist in their own lusts directly: contrary to God's Law and proudly censuring the poor, holy, humble, upright men of God as ignorant, in sensible of God's hand, proud, obstinate, Resisting providence, peevish, & profane, disowning the very hand & disposing such prosperity to the profane, and only because they subscribe not to, and go not along with their sinful though successful enterprises, and consent not to pluck the fift command out of the decalogue, to fling God's word behind they back; and dance after providence into Jeroboam like changes in Church and State: I say courteous reader, had not our eyes seen and our ears heard this sad abuse of providence; and men's conscience grown tickle and tender by reason of guilt, a discou se of providence might have passed without the least charge of violence, discontent, peevishness, or indiscretion; but proper plasters must be applied though the wounded patiented brand the Chirurgeon with Rashness, and cruelty, in provoking pain by searching and suitable applications: Chrisostom ceased not Reprove drunkenness for all the frettings of a drunken people, until they ceased to be drunk nor was Jehoiadah the Priest diverted from his just enterprise and duty by Athalia the usurper her onterie of Treason, Treason. Yet give me leave to tell thee that providence did suit the time to the Text, I did not suit the Text to the time, I had begun and made some progress in this discourse before the late return of the republck, and its success against the disowners' of it; so that my choice is not so much to be blamed; as God's wisdom in directing my thoughts to be acknowledged. Reader, what ever fault may be charged on me, I shall submissly bear knowing I am a man and have managed the discourse like a man of much weakness; yet, the matter I will aver, is the mind of God meet for the Saints meditation and in our day most needful to be studied: Thou hast them in a plain dress, as they were preached and are most proper for thy capacity, and had the Author enjoyed his mind thou hadst had them much sooner: thou now hast them, read with diligence and due consideration: and that thou mayest profit by them, shall be the constant prayer of. ZAC. CROF. Foelix Scelus Querela Piorum. Prospering Profaneness. provoking holy conference and God's attention First preached at botolph's Algate, Lond. and after in Peter's Church West-Chester on July 17. 1659. Mal. 3.15, 16, 17. And now we call the proud happy: yea, they that work wickedness are set up, yea, they that tempt God are even delivered. Then they that feared the Lord spoke often one to another, and the Lord harkened and heard it, and a book of Remembrance was written before him, for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name. They shall be mine (saith the Lord of hosts) in the day that I make up my jewels: and I will spare them as a man spareth his only Son that serveth him THis Prophet was the last inspired by the Lord, to make known his mind to the Jews before the coming of the Messiah: he is therefore the most clear in pointing out the appearance of the Lord, and animating the expectation of his people. In this Chapter the Prophet doth declare two things. First, The manner of the coming of the Messiah, which is in Majesty, his way prepared by his messenger, ver. 1. Much severity Refining his people, ver. 2, 3, 4. Requiting the wicked, ver. 5. Secondly, the reason of so severe an approach which is partly in God, he changeth not: Chief from men they are presumptuously sinful and must be kerbed and convicted; Now we call the proud happy; and they that work wickedness are set up; and they that tempt God are even delivered: Sin abounded unto the sad & serious thoughts of the Godly, Then they that feared the Lord spoke often one to another, etc. Therefore it was high time for the Messiah to appear that then might discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not. Whence by the way, we might observe. Sins prevalency and presumption; Observe. is the season of God's appearance to manifest his justice and holiness. When sin is at the highest and most daringly profane; Saints despised and dispondent, deeming that God hath forsaken the earth, and will not regard the sons of men, or requite the wickedness of the wicked but leave them at liberty to blaspheme his name, and to reproach his people, than the Lord is nearest hand, his holiness & justice most likely to appear; Thus it was in the old world, in Sodom's ruin, & Jerusalem's captivity, and thus it must be, to 1. Redeem God's name and nature from the blasphemies & reproaches of the wicked, Psal. 10.13.50.21 who cry out, God doth not see, neither will he regard God is such an one as ourselves, and therefore we prosper: when impiety impeacheth God's purity, it is time for justice to plead its cause. 2. Rescue God's Saints and people from the taunts, scoffs and insultings of the wicked: who deem, they in vain serve God; & are not profitted by walking mounrfully all the day long; and to no purpose they trust in God and cleave to godliness, which either cannot, or will not save them: God must be seen in his holiness and power, when Religion is said to be vanity, and the pious proclaimed fools. But on this I must not insist only let it be the stay of our spirits, whilst we see iniquity abound, profaneness prosper, fin soaring high, and are sadned in our spirits at its prevalency and presumption consider we God's justice & holiness is under the press of mens profaneness, and must e'er long break out against them: Sins increase is the season of Christ his appearance: now we call the proud happy, than they that feared the Lord spoke oft to one another, was the frame and state of affairs at his first, and so will be at his second coming. But I pass to the text, which I shall consider in itself rather then in its connexion and coherence, and so it offers three things to our consideration. 1. The estate of the wicked. 2. The exercise of the godly. 3. Event of both. I shall speak to them a part, and distinctly, and first of the first. The estate of the wicked, and that is asserted in the Prophet's observation, by an entire proposition we call the proud happy, they that work wickedness are set up, etc. In which we have two things observable as the parts of this proposition. 1. The subjects or persons spoken of, and they are described by a threefold denomination, Proud, Workers of wickedniss. Such as tempt God. 2 The predicate and thing spoken of them, and that is their prosperous estate and condition, and that is described in its gradations they are Happy, Set up, Delivered, This proposition (thus divided without any further comment or explication) doth lay before every observant eye & intelligent ear, the great prosperity of the worst of men: that I may therefore hasten after time, I shall briefly propound & prosecute to your instruction this plain point of doctrine. Most prosperous provideneys do frequently attend the profanest wretches. Doct. In the discussion of this doctrine. I shall speak by way of explication, demonstration, and application. By way of explication we shall inquire 1. Whom we define and denominate profanest wretches. 2. What are the prospering providences which do so frequently attend them. First, The state of the wicked. I shall show you whom we deem and denominate the profanest wretches, who enjoy these prospering providences: and they are such as at the first view, will appear very unlikely of such enjoyments, as indeed unworthy to live on the least of God's goodness: I shall not wander far to find them out, only explain their nature by those Characters which discover them in the text, and they are Workers of Wickedness, Proud workers of wickedness. Proud workers of wickedness who tempt God. 1 Note of profaneness. First, they are declared to be workers of wickedness, this is their name in the text, and the same is given in Job 4.8. and in Psal. 5.5. and Isa. 31.2. and in other places and indeed it is their proper name the very notation of their nature: for wickedness is their work, sin their service, ungodliness their only trade, traffic, and negotiation; sin is called the works of the flesh, for the flesh of profane men can follow no other work: it is their whole endeavour, aim, and study, to be sinning themselves and set it forward by other hands: what ever professions and pretences they make, still sin is their business: all their hypocrisies, circumventious, fallacies, fair speeches, is but to drive this trade of sin, like them in Psal. 58.1, 2. Speak Righteousness, but work wickedness in their hearts, which is the Devils forge & workhouse; sin is the seed and harvest (this they sow and reap) of profane men: sin is an accidental chance act to a gracious soul, but it is the scope, substance, and business of profane men: The best Ordinance is to them but the humouring of sin, they hear, but their heart is after their covetousness, Ezec. 33.31. they pray, and it turns to iniquity, they fast, Isa. 58.2.3 Prov. 21.4 but it is for strife and debate to smite with the fist of wickedness. The very ploughing of the wicked is sin, their whole design is to dig descents into Hell, they are true drudges to the Devil, they plough iniquity, & sow wickedness, Job. 4. v. 8. arrant, serunt, occant, scelera, they drudge night and day, turning up all the corruption in their hearts, and conveniences in the world, for the effecting of their devices: all their expenses and endeavours is to this end: Thus Alexander the great promised a Crown of an hundred and eight poud weight to the men that drunk themselves dead; and thus Charles the ninth of France gave Albertus Tudius (an Hucksters son) six hundred thousand Crowns to teach him to swear with a grace, and make him an exact Artist in his impiety: In a word, they are sinners in action, not only in intention, They devise iniquity on their beds, and act it when the day is light because it is in the power of their hand, Mica. 2.1. Suggestion are smothered in the godly, and profaneness in them seldom passeth into purpose: but this seed soon springs in profane soil, and having conceived it brings forth not only purposes but practices also, Jam. 1. 15. they are sinners of duration, not transiency, they continue in their course of profaneness, the practice of sin is the prison of the pious, if they fall they recover by repentance; Isa. 56.12. but in the palace of the profane they cry out, to morrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant: they abide in their wicked course against friendly counsels, misteriall reproofs, checks of conscience, and corrections of Gods severe hand, they will not be warned, nay, if God hedge up their way, they leap hedges, and rush into sin, as the horse into the battle, jer. 8 6. and will not be restrained: they carry guilt without any remorse, and run on in profaneness without any return: they are workers of wickedness, who never cease till they complete the estate of darkness designed by their master the Devil: they are sinners of diligence and delight, not sloth or reluctancy they play at acts of piety and are therein careless and superficial; but work wickedness with all their skill and will, laying out study and strength on sin, as sold to work it; so far are they from slipping any opportunity that they rise early and seek occasions of sin, and make provision for the flesh, they compass sea and land, contrive conveniences, and stir up corruptions, admit no check or curb of conscience, but as spurred, go on from evil to evil, and wax worse and worse: so that this is the first note of such who may prosper in the world, they are workers of wickedness to whom you must confess all wrath and woe doth belong, Rom. 2.8.9. and therefore it may seem strange that they should, who yet do, prosper, and yet they are not only workers of wickedness. But 2. Note of profaneness Mich. 7.3. Secondly, Proud workers of wickedness, not only do these men do wickedness with both hands earnestly, Exodus. 18.11.21.11. but they also deal arrogantly boiling and swelling with spite and spleen against God and his people, pursuing their own ends confidently, and daring: Proud, haughty, and scornful is their name, Prov. 21.24. they swell in their own sense unto the forgetting God and themselves: and the scorn and contempt of others, they are insolent towards men, and impudent towards God; in the pride of their heart they disdain the poor, and oppress them, Psal. 10.2. their hearts swell with such apprehensions of their estate and enjoyments that their eyes do sparkle with pride; they are of haughty and scornful looks, their hands can act nothing but appression, vengeance, and destruction to the Mordecai and his people who deny to adore their Hamam like pride their tongues can speak nothing but brags, boastings, and arrogancy; their very jesture is a Comment on their pride: they are so lifted up, they think none is, or can be like them, their enjoyments are in their eyes unparallelled, unchangeable excellencies, and therefore they require all prostration of others to their pride: their haughtiness can abide no obstruction, but their wrath swells to the ruin and removal of them who disrespect their dignity, and disobey their unjust demands: they taunt at the godly in their adversity, and insult over their calamity with an Ha', Ha', so we would have it: where is now your God, Psal. 35.21.137.3 Mat 27.43. sing us your Hebrew songs: he trusted in God, let him save him if he will have him: they sit in security and say they shall not be moved: their purposes they pursue with the height of resolution, because with in the power of their hands, We will pursue, we will overtake, we will destroy; are their proud terms towards Gods Israel, Exo, 15.9. so that they can admit no parity among men, nor parley between reason & their own proud thoughts: nor are they more insolent towards men then impudent towards God, appropriating to themselves their own power, might, acquirement, what they hold by divine indulgence, Our high hand, Deu. 32.27. Dan. 4.30. & not the Lord hath done all this. Is not this great Babel which I have built for the house of my kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty? is their proud boasting language witnessing that they forget God that ruleth in the Kingdom of men: and hence they arrogate to themselves the honour, and adoration, (as did the Roman Emperors) which only belongeth unto God, their Image must be worshipped on pain of a fiery furnace, and prayers must be presented to no God save themselves on pain of a Lion's den: and in the haughtiness of their spirit they blspheme Gods holy name denying his power with Sennacherib; who is the God that can deliver out of my hand, Isa. 37. and determine the execution of their own purposes in despite of God, as did Pope Julius in eating his porke-flesh; as if omnipotency should not hinder them; nay, such is their pride that they break all bonds, and presume to intermeddle with holy things without their sphere. Corah's conceit of the people's holiness, carrieth not only to the contempt of Moses and Aaron, but unto a proud preposterous unwarrantable approach to God. Vzziah is no sooner made mighty by the Lord, but his heart is lifted up and he breaks all order, and thinks scorn to be limited in any act he takes a Censer and goes into the Temple to offer incense, 2 Chron. 26.18. nor will he be by the Priest of God warned to desist his sin: in a word, he is so proud that he forgets God by whom he subsists, and strives against God who can soon break him in pieces; & blasphemeth the Lord, who is jealous of his name: and although God hate the workers of iniquity, and resist proud doers, yet these are the men that meet with prospering providences for a time. 3. These men are yet more wicked, 3. note of profaneness. for they are proud workers of wickedness and proceed to tempt God. They sin with such daring presumption, and speak such desperate blasphemous expressions as if designed to prove whether there be a God, or he be a God of holiness, justice and power, as he is deser bed. Like profane Israel, they fret & fume, grudge & grumble under their crossed expectation, & cry, Is God in the midst of us. Exod. 17.7. Can God spread a Table in the wilderness, and prepare bread and flesh for his people. As Psal. 78.18, 19, 20. They dispute all divine threats, and debate Gods very nature, arraigning all the attributes of God at the bar of their proud fancy; to be judged by their corrupt sense, and blaspheming reason; and so daringly resist divine direction, like Israel rush out of a dogged diffidence into a desperate resolution of going to fight against Amaleck, though warned by Moses to sit still in their places, and not to go out to War, for that God is not in the midst of them. Numb. 14, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45. And presumptuously answer the Prophets of God with We will not hearken unto the voice of the Trumpet. As for what thou hast spoken in the name of the Lord we will not do it but we will do what seemeth good in our own eyes. Jer. 6.17.44.16, 17. That by their daring presumptions they put God's truth and justice so upon the test that he can no longer forbear, but because of their abominations bring a curse on the Land. v. 22. nay such is their hor-impudence, that they do not only debate, but also blasphemously determine against the threaten of justice, crying out, the destroying scourge shall not come nigh unto us; we have made a Covenant with Hell and death, and have made lies our refuge, and hid ourselves under falsehood. Isa. 28.15. Therefore they deride the messengers of God and mock his Prophets with an how went the Spirit of the Lord from me to thee. 1 Kings 22.24. Watchman, what of the night? Isa. 21.11. Where is the promise of his coming? do not all things continue as they were. 2 Pet. 3 Nay such is their impiety as to impeach Gods very holiness', and from his patience, positively conclude him to be profane, and the pander of all impiety: they steal, murder, commit adultery, and swear falsely, and come and stand before God in the house where his name is called, and say we are delivered to do all these abominations; Jer. 7.9. They purpose and practice against plain precept most positive and unparallelled profaneness, and cry providence, providence leads us to it, because God abides silent, they say, he is altogether such an one as themselves Psal. 50.21. They conceive a mischievous device and come and inquire of the Lord: They contrive by false accusations and horrid perjury to shed innocent blood, and Jesabel-like, they proclaim a Fast. S serious acts of piety are the prologues of their profaneness, in Nomine Dei in ●ipit omne malum, they no sooner begin to fast and pray, but sober men see and know their profane purposes are near unto execution: nor doth the wisdom and power of God pass their proud temptation, for they attempt acts of cruelty, and cry, who is the God that shall deliver out of our hands, crucify Christ and his people and blasphemously insult, he trusted in the Lord let him save him if he will have him trample on the righteous and triumph over them with a Where is now your God, he persecutes the poor, he boasteth of his hearts desire, he blesseth the Covetous whom God abhorreth, through the pride of his countenance he will not seek after God; God is not in all his thoughts: his ways are always grievous; thy judgements are far above out of his fight, as for all his enemies, he puffeth at them, his mouth is full of cursing and deceit, & under his tongue is mischief and vanity, he croucheth and humbleth himself, that the poor may fall by his strong ones, yet he hath said in heart I shall not be moved, s for all his enemies he puffeth at them, he hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten, he hideth his face, he will never see it; The wicked contemn God, he hath said in his heart Thou wilt not require it. Psal. 10. So thus these proud workers of wickedness speak stout words against God, and determine It is in vain to serve the Almighty: they profanely strive with their maker, and put his truth, holiness, power and justice to proof, and provoke to the vindication of them: And are not these the profanest wretches? Can we screw iniquity one jot higher? Can we choose but wonder the Heavens fall not on their heads, and the Earth devoureth them not alive? yet these are the men whom prospering providences do frequently attend, and so much for their persons. The 2d thing to be considered is, what prospering providences do attend these profane wretches, and in general, All those providences which pass in common from the Creator to the Creature, profane men do and may possess: they have not indeed any the specialties of Grace, holiness, and Covenant privileges which stream in the blood of Christ unto Gods redeemed one's: these strangers meddle not with these joys, but peace, plenty, health, honour, wealth, liberty, all worldly ter●●ne sublimary mercy, expressions of God's goodness are extended to them, and that in such abundance that as the Psalmist noteth, They have more than heart 〈◊〉 wish, They flo●rish like the green 〈◊〉 tree, and know no sorrow, our Prophet doth very accurately describe the porsperitie of profane men in the three steps thereof they are called Happy. Set up. Delivered. 1 step of profane prosperity. 1. The Proud are called happy, they are accounted the only blessed men on earth, they are objects of other men's admiration and applause: they are esteemed and envied as the only possessors of good: all men arise to give them honour, and could wish their estate and enjoyments. Their condition comments on God's goodness and favour towards them: They swim so in the fullness of their desire, that they become the objects of all men's flatteries: their happiness shines with such splendour that their very attendants (like Solomon's young men) are happy that they are so near; none can or dare speak contemptibly of them, nay men are their felicity to the silencing of reproof towards their impiety, nay the very justifying of their wickedness, and crying all is well done. Alexander wants not an Anaxarchus to set Justice by Jupiter, Psal. 49 18. and conclude all must be deemed just that is done by so great a King, and that first by himself, then by others, though it be the murder of his dearest friend Clitus, nor is it to be thought strange th●t men arise call them blessed, and conclude them the happiest men on earth for that. 2, They are set up, 2 step of profane prosperity. exalted by the hand of God to the highest of outward enjoyments: They are set up in nature's throne, and blessed with a budding race and hopeful progeny. They are planted and take root, and grow up in the earth, they send forth their Children like sheep, and their sons dance before them, for their seed is established in their sight with them and their generations before their eyes. Job. 21.9 11. The posterity of the profane do frequently plead the cause and justify the sinful carriage of their progenitors: their name is not only preserved in posterity, but made to shine with splendour in the enjoyment of riches and honour: their wealth and worship is no less conspicuous than progeny. For their Kine calve, their Bull genders, the waters of a full cup are wrung 〈◊〉 unto them, they prosper and increase in riches, They enjoy full barns, flourishing fields, fair structures, and fat Carcases, and all the good things of this life; it is but ordinary for Dives to far deliciously every day, they are clothed in purple and costly apparel; it is but common to see the work of men seated in a chair of state, wearing the imperial Crown, swaying the royal Sceptre, and raging with the revengeful sword. Honour is so incident to Haman, that he cannot think the least Ray of it can pass from him to another. Favour followeth the wicked with importunity, no dignity natural or political passeth the profane, but they possess it. They that work wickedness are Set up. Nay this is not all, ●ut 3. 3d. stest of profane prosperity. They that tempt are even delivered: They discerve and are devoted to destruction, and yet are delivered: The hand of God is lifted up, and yet it lights not on them, they tempt him and yet are not troubled, provoke him and yet scape unpunished, They are not in trouble as other men, nor are they plagued as other, there is no bands in their death, but they are lusty and strong. Psal. 73.4, 5. Their houses are peaceable without fear, and the Rod of God is not upon them. Job. 21.9. The wicked are like the Tyrant Polycrates that never met with cross all his life time nay the very clouds that hang over their heads, do ordinarily disperse: sometimes unto the Godly observer, their proud profaneness doth so tempt God, that to their thinking, he can no longer bear nay commotion and clouds doth arise about them, and horror of spirit ceaseth on them, and all men deem their prosperity ready to expire, and yet their fear vanisheth and the expectation of the Godly fails them, they scape and are delivered from the dangers to which they seem obnoxious, also snares are broken; they that fear God suffer, whilst these that tempt him are eeven delivered. So it is plain, peace, plenty, health, liberty, honour, victory, full enjoyments, successful achievements, immunity from deserved and impending plagues and punishments, may attend the very worst of men, even such who rage in sin, violate sacred vows, disobey divine command, trample on truth and Gospel ordinances; insolently oppress the Godly and impudently provoke divine justice For we call the proud happy, they that work wickedness are set up, and they that tempt God are even delivered. But to pass from explication, we proceed to demonstration, and that prospering providences doth so frequently attend the profanest wretches is a truth undeniably evedent to every serious and sober spirit acquainted with sacred or profane story, or observant of the dispensation of common providence in the world. Can we read Scripture & not regard its general & attest to this plain truth, positively affirming that Some remove the Landmarks and violently take away the flocks and feed thereon, They drive away the Ass of the fatherless and take the widow's ox for a pledge, they turn the needy out of the way, & cause the naked to lodge without clothing; make men groan out of the City, and soul of the wounded to cry, they rebel against the light, and yet God layeth not folly to them. Job. 24. Was not Jobs demonstration of profane men's prosperity, the very defence of his integrity, against the erroneous cavils and groundless censures of his three friends, and is it not therein plainly asserted that the wicked live, become old, yea are mighty in power, their seed is established before them. Their houses are safe from fear, and the Rod of God is not upon them. And are not these positive assertions made evident in plain instances and examples? is not cruel Pharaoh oppressing Israel the highest Prince in the World? is not Jeroboam who rebelled against his master, made Israel to sin, set up Calves at Dan and Bethel, and suffered the lowest of the people to make themselves Priest, defended his usurped magistracy with a usurped ministry; and put forth his hand against the Prophet of God, yet established in his usurped Kingdom, and slept with his Fathers, leaving the succession of his ill gotten Kingdom unto his son? & did not Manasseh that raged most in murder and mischief reign longest of any of the Kings of Israel? Yet many of them much better than himself. What shall we say of the high Honour of Nabuchadnezzar, the Hammer of the nations under whom Babylon sat a Queen, and said, she should never be moved: and did not Assyria the very Rod of God's anger make all her Prince's Kings, and say in her heart, I will ascend Heaven, I will exalt my Throne above the stars of God. Isa 14.13. Nay, as if these instances were not sufficient; do not the Scriptures witness the success of Bejamin once and again over Israel? destroying more by 14000 men then they were themselves, whilst not only the fewest in number (being but 26000 against four hundred thousand) but managing the basest quarrel the impudent defence of the horrid impiety and murder of the men of Gibeah. Judg. 20. must we not shut our Bibles if we will not see prosperity attend profaneness? doth not the word note the prospering providences of the propane to be the principle or rather occasion of all their pride and blasphemy? is it not from hence that pride compasseth them as a chain, and violence covereth them as a garment; that they set their mouths against Heaven, and their tongues walk through the Earth. Psal. 73.6.9. Therefore they say unto God, depart from us, we desire not the knowledge of thy ways; Nay because of God's silence, they stick not to say that he is such a one as themselves. It is the great stumbling block of the righteous to see the prosperity of the profane: at this stone David feet had almost slipped. Psal. 73. And against this Jeremiah could not but complain, and almost quarrel at God's very justice. Jer. 12.1. Against this very temptation God hath prescribed, preserving and supporting cautions, counselling us not to fret at the prosperity of the wicked. Psal. 37. And declaring that it determines not divine favour. Eccles. 9.1, 2. The prosperity of the profane is not only visible within the pale of the Church and in the Word of God, but in the World also, and demonstrated by all prohane History the Heathen Poets have long since sung Marmoreo Licinus tumulo jacet, & Cato parvo. Pompeius' nullo; quis putat esse Deos. Cato is contemned, Pompey to shame exposed. Whilst base Licinus in Marble lieth enclosed. And have not their Orators left us that maxim on observation of wicked men's prospering Foelix impietas virtus dicitur; Prosperity makes Vice be deemed Virtue: Do not their Histories acquaint us with the happy gales wh●ch attended the sacrilege of Dionysius, making him say the Gods loved sacrilege; & he success of Caesar against Pompey, making him to question the very deity; and the never crossed estate of the Tyrant Polycrates, who of purpose to fall under a cross, cast his Ring into the Sea, and received it in the fish that was served up at his table. Of the success of Anthony over famous Brutus, constraining him to cry 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 virtue is of no value, let Fortune be adored by my posterity. And Nero his high prosperity that made it treason in the famous Senator Thraseus, not to flatter him. What shall we tell you of Seneca's writings of providence occasioned by wicked men's prosperity? And Salvians treatise of God's government of the World in righteousness on the like occasion: Or shall I mention to you Basils stumbling at the success and prosperity of the blasphemous Arrians? Or of the flourishing estate of the Turks those vowed enemies of Christianity? I might swell a volume with instances of this nature, but must not our own observation witness it to us, may not we in our age run and read the prospering providences of the most profane; have not we seen men of error, ignorance, perjury perfidy and hypocrisy, who supplant government, subvert foundation, dethrone Princes, usurp authority, invade Nations, imbrue their hands in blood, trample on the Church & lay it waste, blaspheme ordinances, expose Ministry to contempt, violate all sacred obligations, falsify all solemn professions, advance and establish themselves by all acts of cruelty, cozenage dissimulation and perjury, and pass to the grave in the height of honour. And can we otherwise conclude, then that we call the proud happy, and they that work wickedness are set up, and they that tempt God are even delivered. Whilst it is thus, we have cause to be serious in Seneca's question, Cur bene malis, why should prospering providences attend the profanest wretches: whence is their success, how comes it to pass that they who thus provoke God, scape ? here than I shall show you that prospering providences do on some weighty grounds and reasons, attend the profanest wretches, viz. the 1. Providence of God in its common course and method doth dispose. 2, Patience of God doth require 3. Punishment and probation of the Saints necessitate 4. Provoked Justice doth enforce prosperity to attend the prophaneest. These Reasons let us particularly and seriously consider, and they will convince us that there is good ground for profane men's prosperity, and first, of the first. Providence in its Common Reason 1 course and method, doth dispose prospering providence to attend the prophanenest wretches: the World created is preserved, ordered and disposed by divine providence; he that made the World settleth it in a series and regular course and method: though God do exercise a special care over his own Children, his eyes running to, and fro, 2 Chron. 29.9. that he may show himself strong for the good of the upright in heart; Yet he sleights not the World, but ordereth all the affairs thereof, according to the purpose of his own will, and that in a settled course, and prescribed method, His eyes behold the evil, and the good. Prov. 15.3. Nothing falls out but at his appointment: and in the course and order of his appointment; he disposeth all things to their end, with all causes, means, occasions, method or obstructions thereunto belonging: No conservation, or condition befalls the whole creation, but runs in the channel of common providence; fortune is a foolery, and chance a mere cheat for nothing in the world is really (though to our sense it be) accidental and fortuitous, but all things come to pass by the Regular motion of providence, which frequently brings under the Godly, and lifts up the profane, and there are in this Chariot of Providence four wheels carrying forth, and regularly disposing the prosperity of the worst of men. viz. 1. Divine power and sovereignty. 2. Distribution of God's goodness to his Creatures. 3. Divine method and order. 4. And due Reservation of the wicked to the day of vengeance. The first wheel of peovid. The prosperity of the profane is disposed by the providence of God, unto the demonstration of his power and sovereignty: God doth whatsoever he will, and who shall say unto him what dost thou? the whole course of providence is a comment on God his independency and absolute dominion, and usually Runneth Counter to men's castings and contrivances, apprehensions and expectations, so as that God may manifest, his thoughts are not man's thoughts. 1 Sam. 16.6, 7, 8, 9.10. samuel's sight may soon suggest Eliab for his high stature, and lively aspect to be the anointed of the Lord before him; but the Sovereignty of God will set up David the most unlikely of the family of Jesse, and so witnesseth that God seethe not as man seethe: no outward enjoyments must depend on humane acquirements, therefore all things come alike unto all men, There is one event to the righteous and the wicked: to the Good, to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not, as is the good, so is the sinner, & he that sweareth as he that feareth an oath. Eccles. 9.2. Though the favour of the Lord be to the Righteous, and his good will to them that fear him, yet sanctity is no peg to stop his wheel of providence: Grace must not divert the demonstrations of his sovereignty: no man receiveth any thing by desert and merit, in common (much less in special) good things, but the very best are tenants at will, fed by the Commons of God's determination. The sovereignty of God will triumph over the seeming merit of sanctity, as well as the probable procurements of nature: and therefore the Race is not to the swift, nor the Battle to the strong; neither yet bread to the Wise, nor riches to men of understanding. Eccl. 9.11. Benjamin with their 26000 once and again overcame Israel's 400000, and destroy 40000, to demonstrate that battle is not to the strong. It is the wonder of the World to see fools flourish, the weak to prevail, whilst the strong are foiled, and the wise in want; not considering that the acquirements of art, & nature cannot alter the course of common providence. Promotion comes not from the East, nor from the West, nor from the South, but God sitteth as the Judge, he putteth one down, and setteth another in the room. psal. 75.6, 7. When the heathen do observe Agathocles the Son of a Potter to become King of Scicile, Valentinian the Son of a Rope-maker, to become Emperor of Rome, Justinus to arise from a Swineherd to be an herdsman, to turn Soldier and at the length become Emperor; can they choose but conclude Sic fata trahunt, thus the Gods will have it; and can Christians observe Absalon advanced against his Father; Jeroboam against his Master; Athaliah by blood, & cruelty, established seven years in the Kingdom: nay Nabuchadnezzar prevailing over the whole world, and not conclude, God ruleth in the Kingdoms of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he wil Vice is advanced, least virtue should vie with divine justice, and veil the dominion of God: and folly is enriched, that men may see God alone doth all things. if Alexander to magnify his majesty, advanced abdolominus, a poor Gardener to be King in Sidon, what shall not God do? Prosspering providences attend the profanest wretches, to proclaim The earth is the Lords, and the fullness thereof, Psal. 24. and he giveth it to whomsoever he will: and parts or piety are not the grounds of his dispensation; he gives good things o the worst of men, that men may know his own will is the on●y guide of all his actions, he will not be prescribed by the sons of men: and this is the first wheel of providence on which prosperity doth attend the profane. 2d wheel of provide. The second wheel of this successessefull Chariot, is the distribution of God's goodness to all Creatures. God is good to all, and his mercy is over all his works. Psal. 145.9. The creation is a comment on God's power and wisdom, but in the preservation of the world shines God's goodness: all creatures must according to their capicity, partake of God's goodness, and especially the sons of men: they have not all like share, but at one time or other, they all do share in the goodness of God; the very worst of men must witness even in their eternal woes that God is good: therefore in him they live, and move, and have their being. Acts 17, 28, 29. nay therefore his rain falls on the bad, as well as good, and sun shines on the just and unjust: the wicked shall do no work for God, but his goodness assigns them wages, if Ahab humble himself but hypocritically, 1 King. 21.29. yet the judgement threatened shall be delayed in his days; and if Nabuchadnezzar do God service against Tyrus, he shall receive Egypt for his wages. Ezek. 29, 18, 19 If the goodness of God be extended unto birds and beasts, much more to the basest of men: only we must note that the providence of God giveth the present sense of God's goodness to the wicked, and the Godly have it only in reversion; truly God is good to Israel, Psal. 73.1. but their present tune must be, Oh how great is thy goodness thou hast laid up in store for them that fear thee. Psal. 31.19. So that the goodness of God on the stage of this World is especially extended to the wicked, even to the worst of men. T●● good things of common providence is all the portion they must have, and they have it in this life, therefore they are God's hand and sword, in this world, their bellies are filled with hid treasure, they are full of Children, and leave their substance to their babes. Psal. 17.14. They now live in pleasure on the earth, and are wanton, and nourish their hearts as in a day of slaughter they condemn and kill the just, and he doth not resist them. Jam. 5.5, 6. It is in this life, Luke 26.25. that Dives receiveth his good things, and Lazarus must be contented with evil things here: for his comfort is in Abraham's bosom hereafter. And David's Dolour is present, and by the pride of the now psosperou●, for that his satisfaction must be when he shall arise in the likeness of God and see his face in Righteousness; Psal. 17.12 13, 14, 15. such as will conceive God's goodness, must at one time or other be extended to all men in some measure, and consent that the course of providence carrieth it to the wicked in this life, and reserveth it to the righteous, at the resurrection, and can be but content to wait the motion of this wonderful wheel will never wonder to see prosperity attend the profane. The third wheel of providence on which the prosperity of the wicked doth run, The third wheel of provide. is divine method & order, God is in all things a God of order, and works regularly in the disposing of the affairs of the world and in the execution of his justice: on this account the series of sin goeth before the severe judgements of a righteous God. Man's sin, and God's silence do for a time consist, and go hand in hand; for sin must be ripe before God reckon with he sinner, and in order to this end, the Lord looks on the iniquity of the wicked, and is so far from striking, that he suffereth & disposeth the cou●se of his common providence to their sinful desires: suffers them to prosper and possess all occasions, advantages and opportunities to accomplish their wicked devises, and execute their impiety: there is not the purpose in their heart, that shall want the power of their hand to bring it to pass: Gen. 15.16 the Amorites must possess the land 400 years, that their iniquity may be ripe, themselves, fit for the sickle of divine fury: such is the concurrence of providence, in time of God's silence with the corruption of men, that many would think there were a combination unto profaneness; and therefore the wicked blasphemously think God is such a one as themselves. Not only doth Order engage a succession of judgement unto the series of sin, sailing with the pleasant of Gale prosperity, but also directeth the publication of God's Law in promises and threats, to go before the execution of his displeasure. The Lord warneth before he wars, and alarms the wicked by his word before he abate their pride by his sword, the days of divine debates, warnings, conviction and threats, are days wherein wrath is bridled, and justice restrained, and so long it is fair weather to the foulest sinner: on this account an hundred and twenty years of peace and prosperity passed on the old world, whilst Noah the Preacher of righteousness, warned them of the approaching refuge, and so long they did eat and drink, marry, and give in marriage, live in all sensuality, and voluptuousness; and Jerusalem sat in peace, Jer. 44. so long as God sent his messengers, rising early, and sending them. God is not so preposterous as man, he permits the wicked to fill up the measure of their sin, spit all, even the utmost of their spite, and show how vile they can be, & so long suffers them to prosper; & then showeth that he can curb & cut them down; he sits still whilst his Heralds proclaim war summons submission, solicit repentance, signify displeasure; and from this order God will not be diverted. And hence it is, that his providence doth attend the profanest wretch. The fourth and last wheel of providence, which bringeth prosperity to the profane, The fourth wheel of peovid. is due reservation of them to the day of vengeance: God hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the World in righteousness, Act. 17.30. by the man Christ Jesus, when he will render tribulation and anguish unto every one that doth wickedly; and unto this day the wrath of the Lord is referred, the wicked are reserved, and the ungodly are not acquitted, though not yet punished: Paternal correction and chastisement is a coursorie expresssion of anger unto the awe of children, and so passeth on the Godly every day, but judicial punishment tending to the death and destruction of the malefactor, is referred to the general Session's of Goal delivery: and till this time, men in prison enjoy their liberty & sport, and all due provisions for support of their being; God's rod may frequently reach his children, but the Axe of his displeasure is long it cut off the heinous Malefactor. God knoweth how to deliver the Godly out of temptation, but to reserve the wicked unto the day of judgement. 2 Pet. 2.9. In the course of his providence he gives them all things necessary for the support of thei● being, and signifying of his goodness, that with the more of majesty and justice, he may proceed to their punishment, and make them everlasting monuments of his wrath: though the sinner do evil an hundred times, yet God prolongeth his wrath, but at the long run it shall not go well with the wicked, Eccl. 8.12, 13. God scorns to be at the trouble of correction to men appointed to condemnation, and foul his fingers with the daily chastisements of perverse rebellious castaways, he freely gives the Prodigal the portion, he must have, whilst want, labour, lowering, and hardship attends the heir and son of his favour, he spareth, but doth not acquit though the heart of the wicked be full set in them to do evil, it is only because the sentence is not speedily executed. Eccles. 8.11. The wicked flourish not in favour, but forbearance, scape , because the day of reckoning is not yet come: Solomon makes the memento of a day of judgement the youngsters bridle; and St. James makes it the check of Rich men's jollity; the young man may rejoice, and walk in the ways of his own heart, but remember for all these things God will bring thee to judgement is his calling-card. Eccles. 11.9. The bitterness of wicked men's best things is that in this life they have good things on earth, they live in pleasure, but their riches cry for judgement, and they must be called to a reckoning; but until the day approach the trumpet sound the Judge be sat, like secure prisoners they spend their days in sport and security, as it was in the days of Noah, men were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the flood came; even so shall it be at the coming of the Son of man: the course of providence must run till the last day determine it. Common provision must be made for Malefactors, till the Goal delivery destroy them. Man must not, and God will not judge before the time, therefore men sin and suffer not, are profane and yet prosper. We see then the first Reason carrying with it strength of conviction, and declaring good ground for the prosperity of the profane men, the providence of God in its common course doth dispose it: and so long as this Chariot of Providence doth run on these wheels, the demonstration of God's power and sovereignty, the distribution of God's goodness to his creatures, divine method and order, and the due reservation of the wicked to the day of judgement. We must call the proud happy, and they that work wickedness will be set up, and they that tempt God will be delivered. The 2d ground & Reason of the prospering providences that attend the profanest wretches, is the patience of God which doth require it. God is a God of mercy, and his mercy is above all his works. Psal. 145.9. God is slow to anger, and ready to forgive The execution of his wrath is his strange work, in which he seems no way dextrous, & is thereunto very slow: he forgiveth iniquity, and forbeareth the sinner, unto the utmost of his pity and patience, the whole course of his carriage towards the wicked is the comment upon, nay the very current of his patience and long sufferance; though he be a God of power and justice, that is able, in a moment to consume with the breath of his nostrils, yet he is very slow in, & backward unto the destruction of the wicked: of all his attributes God will advance his goodness and long sufferance unto the acquittance of his power and severity when extended, and aggravation of the wicked's torments, when damned; he therefore suffereth with long patience the vessels of wrath prepared unto destruction. Rom. 9.22. Hence it is that Israel commits horrid sins with an high hand, offering incense to the Queen of Heaven and other gods, yet God suffers them to have plenty of victuals, and to see no evil, but it is only in his patience, until he provoked by their abominations could no longer forbear. Jer. 44.22. God deferreth the destruction of the world, and day of judgement, until the scoffers and mockers of the last times, tauntingly demand where is the promise of his coming, and it is only because he is long-suffering, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance: wicked men defy his power, and dare his justice by their pride & blasphemies, yet he deferreth his judgements, they sin with so high an hand, that sober men wonder that the earth swalloweth them not up, and thunder bolts fly not about their ears, yet they abide in peace, abound in their hearts desire, and are acquitted from those common calamities which befall the Godly; and God either suffers them in silence, or only sends his messengers, rising early, and sending them to entreat that they would not do that great wickedness which his soul hateth; and all to show his patience, and constrain them under his wrath, to confess such were their provocations that he could no longer forbear: The wrath of God is to rage against the wicked and it is therefore restrained, that like smothered fire it may flame more furiously and the impenitency of the wicked against, nay to the contempt of God's goodness, patience and long sufferance is the treasuring up of wrath against a day of wrath, and the Revelation of Jesus Christ: when the Lord ariseth to judgement he will roar out of Zion, and make the inhabitants of the earth to tremble: he is like a Lion loath to be roused, and long before he be provoked; so that because God is, and will appear exceeding patiented, his Macrothumia long sufferance must be magnified, therefore do prospering providences attend the profanest wretches; and they who sin to the highest pitch, are suffered to be happy to the utmost point of patience, that not bare justice, but provoked justice may be the principle of vengeance, and men may be convinced their destruction is of themselves, their sins were so daring that the holiness of God could no longer forbear. The third ground and reason of wicked men's success and profane men's prosperity is. The punishment and probation of the Saints doth necessitate it: God's gold must be tried, and children chastised, therefore the proud must be called happy, and they that work wickedness be set up: the wicked prosper in the world, and the current of providence is to their countenance and content, they flourish in wealth, grow great in power, possess what ever the heart desires accomplish whatever they purpose, but not out of any favour to them, but frowns to the Godly, not for any grace that is in them, but the grief that must seize on God's Israel: the wicked are God's hand by which he reacheth his children when running from him. The Rod of God's anger by which he chastiseth his hypocritical nation, his axe and saw whereby he hews and squares his knotty stubborn people to a submission to his own will: the furnace whereby he purgeth away the dross and tin, and proveth the faith and patience of his poor ones, let the wicked think never so highly, and speak never so arrogantly against God and his people, they are but instruments in his hand, to the affliction of the Saints: Babylon must needs sit as a Queen in the height of glory, because Zion must become desolate and forsaken such is the Antipathy of Saints and sinners that the mercy of the one is the misery of the other, the rising of the one is the fall of the other: of all rods in God's hand the prosperity of the wicked is the sharpest, most dreadful to God's children: the ungodly because of their arrogancy and cruelty are God's scorpions, David in his choice well prayeth that God might deal with him immediately, not by the success of his enemies; for the mercies of men are cruelty: Seven years' famine, or three days pestilence were far more easy afflictions then three months' flight before his enemies. Wicked men cannot execute God's anger on the godly, without the expression of their own spite and wrath: God cannot be a little angry, but the Heathen helps forward the affliction of Israel, Zach. 1.15. They Assyria-like insult over Jerusalem, with an As I have done unto Samaria, so will I do unto Jerusalem; I have found as a nest, the riches of the people, as one gathereth Eggs, so have I gathered all the earth, and there was none that moved the wing, They speak proudly, and purpose cruelty, yet they forget that God only sent them as a scourge against Jerusalem, and to strike them as with a staff to correct, not destroy: like Pekah the son of Remaliah they cannot be raised up to chastise their brethren, but they slay them with a rage which reacheth up to heaven, and purpose to keep the children of Judah and of Jerusalem to be bondmen and bondwomen, 2 Chron. 28.9.10. forgetting that they are brethren, though under the chastisement of the Father, or that there are sins amongst them, even amongst themselves: Yet be they never so cruel and churlish, God will do his own work by them, they must succeed and prosper, they must purpose and prevail, and the very cries of God's Children will not change this providence; they are under God's correcting hand and he will not spare for their roaring, in his own time he will abate their pride, because the rod of the wicked must not lie always on the lot of the Righteous, Psal. 125. and he will arraign the arrogancy of the Assyrian, with a Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith, or the saw magnify himself against him that shaketh it, as if the rod should shake itself against him that lifteth it up, or the staff should lift up itself, as if it were no wood; but until God have purged away sin, he will chastise his sons, and the rod which is intended for the fire must retain its sharpness, and in the trial of faith and patience the furnace must retain its glowing heat and brightness: It were well, if wicked men could say with Titus, Vespasian at the destruction of Jerusalem, we have but lent God our hand for however they persecute the Godly in lust, pride, and envy, they prevail over them in love, and pity, as the rod on the back of a child, therefore they have no such reason to insult and blaspheme: the godly do not resist them, because they dare not strive against the Father: Lying still, not fretting, being quiet, waiting on God under the prosperity of the wicked: Is the demeanour required of good men under the prosperity of the wicked, the rod of God: let not the wicked blaspheme God when their prospering proiudences succeed their profaneness, and seems to be the result of their Ahab-like fasts, humiliations, and prayers, for let them know they prevail not because God heareth their prayers, but he wrappeth himself, as in a cloud, and shutteth out the prayers of his own people: If once the faith of God's people be but found unto praise and honour, the light of the wicked shall be put out, and when God shall cease to chastise his children, then shall they no more be afraid of the Assyrian, who must be brought down and confounded, and till than we must not wonder that the proud are called happy, they that work wickedness are set up, and they that tempt God are even delivered. The fourth and last reason and ground of the prospering providences that attend the profanest wretches, is provoked justice doth enforce it: God's anger doth ordinarily enforce affliction, but he is most austere when he stays his correcting hand. Cross providences do ordinarily attend God's children when all seems quiet and favourable to his slaves and enemies. Corrections are pledges of adoption, and badges of sonship. One son God hath without sin, not one without sorrow; but indeed God corrects none but his own: he chastiseth every son that he receiveth: and paternal affliction is but the result of his affection so long as God doth chastise corruptions; and correct our deviations he demonstrates pity to us, and on purpose to do us good. Job makes it a favour of great condescension to be admired, What is man that thou visitest him every morning, and triest him every moment, Job. 7.17, 18. And correction is a courtesy to be craved at God's hand, Jer. 10.24 where God is at pain of correction he purposeth not a rejection: Casting out of God's house and family is dreadful and sad, when casting down under God's hand is full of love and pity, Isa. 21.4 faithfulness and truth: The Lord may smite Israel, and yet say fury is not in me, but his wrath rageth, and justice is much provoked when he crieth out, why should you be smitten any more, ●sa. 1.5. The son of most liberty and least smart is usually the child of highest displeasure. Whom God most cockereth he most correcteth but if affliction be not felt, then are we bastards and not sons: now affliction is either a note of no relation unto God, or of severe rejection by God; if God cease to scourge a son, it is in severe anger to let him take his swinge in wickedness to the loss of Father's blessing and inheritance: The saddest estate of Israel was when God professeth he would cease from his anger: and let Ephraim alone when joined to Idols; Gods rage can only roar out this language, I will make my fury towards thee to rest, and my jealousy shall departed from thee, and I will be quiet and be no more angry, Ezek. 16.42. And I will not punish your daughters, when they commit whoredom, nor your spouses when they commit adultery, Hos. 4.14. Origen quoting this scripture crieth out vis indignantis Dei, vocem terribilem audire, will you hear the terrible voice of God, hear it here, I will not punish: The profane like foolish children think their father's quietness the token of his favour; they are well pleased when profaneness passeth uncontrolled, and impiety uncorrected, when God's silence seconds and gives way to their loud crying sins? they cry mercy, mercy, but Bernard calleth it Misericordiam omni indignatione Crudeliorem, a cruel courtesy, a kill kindness to let the child play with the candle till burned, and the knife till stabbed: Vatablus interpreteth those words in Ezek. 3.20. I will lay a stumbling block before him: I will prosper him and not by affliction restrain him, can we consider prosperity to be the principle and spring of Atheism, irreligion, and profaneness; therefore pride compasseth them, they set their mouth against heaven, etc. Psal. 73.6. and conclude it a mercy to be prosperous; It is the miserable mercy of the Gentiles whom God gave up unto a reprobate mind and vile affections to do those things which were not convenient to be filled with all unrighteousness and fornication wickedness etc. Rom. 1.28, 29. An estate of so great displeasure that the children of God rather choose affliction and cry with Luther, Feri, Domine feri, strike Lord strike, and spare not: or with Jeremiah, Correct me O Lord; however the wicked boast of God's good pleasure, when they run into high profaneness and justice regards not to restrain, than we cannot but read of them, that they are Bastards and not sons, and so have no relation to God; Chastisement is domestic discipline: or else they are designed to a wrathful rejection, they have provoked him so far with their pride and stubborness, that he will no longer be troubled to correct them, or attempt to reduce them; but let them take their swinge and run their Career of profaneness unto their own ruin, let them swear and lie, commit adultery, deal falsely, do what they will, they shall not for him be checked or crossed; for he in his wrath hath cast them off, and will have no more to do with them, till in judgement he cry Go ye cursed into Hell fire, prepared for the Devil and his Angels: So not pity and good will, but provoked justice doth enforce the prosperity of profane men; God is most angry, when most silent, and striketh lest. Thus than you have the question resolved, and see how it comes to pass, that it goeth so well with the wicked; and if we attend the course of God's providence; be affected with the working of God's patience; assent unto the Saints Chastisements and trials, and apprehend the highest expressions of provoked fury: we see satisfying reasons and grounds why prospering providences frequently attend the profanest wretches, and shall cease to wonder that the proud are called happy, they that work wickedness are set up, and they that tempt God are even delivered. Having thus explained and confirmed the doctrine, I shall now pass unto the application of it, and although it might be largely useful; I shall contract all into one general use of instruction, to teach us to demean and carry as those that are convinced, that prospering providences do frequently attend the profanest wretches. Principles must be the ground of practice, and persuasions must enforce obedience: do we then see that they call the proud happy, and they that work wickedness are set up, and they that tempt God are even delivered: Let it be our care to walk in the sense of this course of providence, and carry suitably to so clear demonstration of profane men's prosperity, and especially in learning, and daily exercising these three lessons or duties. First, favour no cause or person, follow no course of life as approved of, and acceptable to GOD, because seconded with prospering providences in this world. 2. Find not contentment in the prospering providences of this life. 3. Fret not at the prosperity of the wicked, even of the worst of men. Of these in order, and first of the first. 1. If prospering providences do frequently attend the profanest wretches, then favour you no cause, follow no course as approved of, and and acceptable to God, because seconded with prospering providences in this world. Make not providence an argument of defence and justification to any cause, or yet a ground of belief, and embracement to any course of life; do not determine this or that principle, profession or practice to be true because not troubled, and good because successful. The providences of God are in our much age observed & made mention of; I wish they be not more then admired, even profanely advanced, to palliate profaneness, and impose impiety on others. How many that act horrid impieties, unparallelled wickedness, subverting foundations, supplanting laws, destroying liberties, usurping authority, despising dominions, speaking evil of dignities, trampling on truth, contemning ordinances, laying waist the Church, advancing errors, heresies schisms, despising and despiting God's Ministers, violating sacred vows and blaspheming most solemn oaths and Covenants; and in their Enterprises meeting with success: proceeding with prosperity; do with impudence cry, providence, providence, as the plea of defence to their damned courses, and conclude their horrid profaneness to be the Good Old Cause, even the Cause of God and Religion, with all fervour imposing it on others, & charging ignorance, unbelief, and obstinacy on all such as say not, all is well done, and do not strike hands with them in their ungodliness: whilst they administer no light, nor urge any argument, save success and prosperity: sure these men do forget that we call the proud Happy, and they that work wickedness are set up: nor is there any more of strength in their praying, fasting, and humiliation, that religious running into profaneness, and making piety the Prologue of their wicked undertake; whilst they that tempt God are even delivered. Let me not be mistaken, I would not disown or in the least degrade the providences of God; I know they are to be observed and dreaded by such as fear God; there must be in all godly hearts a demeanour and frame of spirit, suitable to divine providence; the success and prosperity of men in the world doth digitate and direct something of duty to God's Children: but whilst providence is to be observed it is not to be obeyed against any precept. Whilst it is to be improved it must be our care it be not misimproved, and whilst we wait to hear & see God's mind in a providence, we must not make it to speak the uncertain sound of our own fancies, and pointblank contrary to Gods will in his word. I would that providence be used, not abused, and duly argued, but not made to conclude what the promises of success and prosperity will not conclude: let me therefore (unto the guiding you unto the due observation and Christian improvement of providences, success and prosperity) desire you to keep this golden Rule in mind, and have it always at hand in changeable times and under variety of providences, viz. God's providence doth determine our condition, but not defend any cause, or dictate any course of life. Providence is the explication of God's mind. Concerning our enjoyments, not our endeavours, and are to convince: this is the estate we must enjoy or endure, not these are the principles we must believe, and practice we must embrace; God's providence is no Rule to know by, no Rule to go by. It was never intended to be a line of decision in doubtful controversies; or a Rule of direction in difficult cases; it is indeed a good Dictator to our passions but no direction to our actions; the due and diligent observer of providence seethe what to fear, and what to desire, when to mourn, and when to rejoice, and how to lie low and how to be lifted up under the hand of God: but not what to believe in matters of faith, and act in matters of Religion: I deny not the change of God's people, under changing providences: but must have this change understood to be a change not of principles but passion, not piety and Religion, but particular acts of piety (that not in substance and matter, but method and order:) God's providence doth sometimes call to weeping, Isai. 22.12. and mourning, and clothing in sackcloth; and sometimes to joy and gladness, and feasting before the Lord; and he that answereth not this Call of Providence, with the change of his demeanour is profane and liable to divine plagues: yet he that improves this providence to the casting off Religion, Psal. 44.17. and forsaking the Covenant of God is blasphemous and irreligious, & degenerated from the Saints of old, who could cleave to God's Covenant under the greatest of crosses, whilst then we fear before God, and observe his providence, as disposing all affairs under the Sun: we must not favour any cause because successful nor follow any course of life, because prosperous for we must know, 1. Precept not providence is the Rule of direction unto the people of God Their enquiry is, what doth God speak, not what doth God succeed, God hath published his word and prescribed it to be the Rule of life and manners, and hath bound his people to the determination thereof. Matters of faith and Religion have ever been positive and prescribed by the word, and not left to the uncertain determination of providence: the Gentiles may be left to the guidance of the stars, and determinations of Heaven's influence, but God's Israel have ●●ws, statutes, Ordinances, and commandments which they must observe, & far it as it will with their condition, they must not turn to the right hand or the left hand, from Gods declared will. Deut. 5. 32.1●.11.28.14. No change of providence must carry them from positive commands; their very King the subject of highest prosperity, must have the Law written and therein read daily, and Rule the people not by the impulse or instigation of providence, but those positive prescriptions: in doubtful cases Israel must appeal to the Priest, and have the controversy decided by the Law, but we never read of any appeal to providence directed or allowed: to the Law and to the testimony, Deut. 17, 17. if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. Isa. 8.20. In the most dark estate that that ever befell Israel, they are directed to the word, not works of God to uphold their faith, and direct their conversation. Remember the Law of Moses my servant wh ill I commanded him in Horeb for a Israel, with the statutes & judgements, Mal. 4.4. was the counsel of God to Israel until the coming of the Messiah; and he leavs not Christian faith on the changeable wheel of providence but committed it to writing, that it might be a standard of doctrine, and Rule of life. These things are written, that we may believe. Joh. 20.31. And peace is to be on as many as walk according to the written Rule. Gal. 6.16. No gracious heart ever yet durst decline the word of God to be directed by works of providence. Ahabs' majesty, his Prophet's harmony, 1 King. 22.13, 14. friend's persuasion, and fear of adversity, have no influence on Micaiah to turn him from the word of the Lord; he will speak what the Lord speaketh. Nay Balaam the false Prophet however swayed by the prospering providence put into his hand, and pursuing the wages of unrighteousness, dares not ●ut protest against the influence of providence a subjection to the word of God; The word that God putteth into my mouth, that will I speak, Numb. 22.38. The Barbarians may bottom their persuasions of Paul, Act. 26.6.14.11, 12. upon the success of the Viper; and the Lycaonians stir up their superstition by the miraculous providences that attend the Apostles, 17.11. but the noble Bereans regard neither the one nor the other; But search the Scripture, and bottom their faith on the Word of God: he that weigheth Religion in the balance of providence, forsaketh ●he balance of the Sanctuary; God never intends by providence to justle our precepts, and to make his word of none effect. Let M●homet cudgel, Chr●●● J●●us will convince his disciples, and by his word witness his truth, when providences run never so cross: to manage a cause with appeals to providence, is to manifest a want of, or a weakness in the word of God: and put the controversy on that course that giveth no assurance of decision; having never been appointed to that end: to embrace any course because it prospereth, is to forsake the law of the Lord, as rude and uncertain; and blasphemously to tempt God, by a course on which no faith can be founded, for that no promise is made unto it: obedience to the word is manifested, when works of providence do run counter and contrary thereunto: the appeal of comfort to the soul, and honour to God and his truth is, all this is come upon us, yet have we not forgotten thee, nor dealt falsely in thy Covenant. Our heart is not turned back, neither have our steps declined from thy way. Psal. 44.17, 18. Let profane men practise their evil purposes and prosper in their evil practices and plead providence providence; their blasphemy may afflict us but their plea carrieth no persuasion, or force to him that feareth God, & obeyeth the voice of his servants: one; it is written, is of more weight to a gracious soul, than hundreds of victories, and a series of prosperity: for indeed to determine divine allowance, by good or bad success of any cause, or approve, or disapprove any course of life by its external providence, that attend it, is to deny and determine in direct contradiction not only to the experiences of the Church; but expressions and maxims of Scripture, which are multiplied to our establishment against the force of this very temptation: as, Blessed are the poor; theirs is the Kingdom of God. Blessed are they that hunger and thirst, for they shall be fed: blessed are they that weep for they shall laugh, and blessed are they that men shall hate, separate from their company, and reproach, and cast out their name for evil, for the Son of man's sake: such were the true Prophets: great is their reward: but, on the contrary: Woe is unto the rich the full, and those of whom all men speak well. Luk. 6. For such were the false Prophets of old: and again we must through many tribulations, enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. Acts 14.22. And the poor of this World, Rich in faith, God hath chosen: And the like all which are of no use if the current of common providence must be the ground of conviction, or guide of conversation, nay our Saviour doth so sarr discountenance appeals to, and approbation of any cause by providence and success, that he will not work miracles to convert souls or enforce faith. When the Jewish Sectaries call for a sign, and resolve their conversion in some pompous, outward, and glorious show, the Lord denieth a sign, and referreth to the sign of Jonah, dictated in holy writ: nay, and cautioneth all men to take heed of signs, wonders, and lying miracles, which are the arguments of Antichrist, to outface the Scripture. Mat. 24.24. 2 Thes 1.9. John Huss (out of Isiidore, Chrisostome, Gregory, and Augustine) hath long since rendered the Reason why miracles have ceased in the Church, and are only found in favour of the false Prophet and Antichrist, [viz.] because the Church of Christ must be persecuted, and seem abject, vile and forsaken: and must overcome by confession of the truth, by holiness, and shining in good works; by love and patience, and not by power: but Antichrist must sway all; and have full power to persecute; and Hypocrites who look after Temporals more than eternals must be discovered, and the true Saints tried, and Carn●lists be justly punished with that snare of specious signs, and convincing providences. So that if we will not throw away our Bibles, disown Scripture, and make divine precepts and prescriptions of none effect: let us never dare to appeal to providence whi●h may fall on the side of the most profane; let us never say this course is pleasing to God, because pleasing to the men that devise and pursue it: this God all oweth because he prospereth; but this he disalloweth because thereto he disappeareth these are Saints, their prayers succeed: but these are sinners, Lam 3.44. for God wrappeth himself as in a cloud, and shutteth out their prayers: for precept not providence is the Rule prescribed by the Lord, and by it we see The proud are called Happy, etc. motive. 2 Providence made a Rule doth expose us to uncertainty of persuasion and unconstancy in profession of Religion. Faith ought to be fixed; and constancy in it, ●is the honour of any profession: 2 Tim. 1.13. 1 Cor. 15.58. holding fast the form of sound words and being steadfast and unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord is the duty and due property of a true believer but forsaking the right rule is the way to constant wand'ring; declining the standard of truth doth expose us to inevitable fluctuation and deviation: The admirers of the Moon, and observers of the wheels motion, must needs be subject unto Changes: variety of providences must needs engender variety of persuasions by the orders thereof: such as see by no light or sail by no compass but by success, must needs (like the waves of the Sea) be tumbled and tossed to and fro. The returns of this wheel runs men on most palpable, and shame, full contradictions: for if success be the line of decision, the same cause is to day good, because prosperous, to morrow evil because adverse, to day godliness is gain, and to morrow gain shall be Godliness, sometime the Righteous are in honour, but anon, the Honourable are the Righteous: how soon do such men change their Tune, who conclude providence to be God's voice. Was it not this that led men in all ages unto sinful, shameful, unconstancy; 2 Sam. 7, 8, 19.19, 20, the same Shimei that to day curseth David because adverse, is the first that to morrow cometh down and meeteth him with blessing, 1 King. 18.40. because returned with victory: They that in Ahab rage fall down before Baal in Elijahs successful resolution, pull down Baal, and destroy his Priests. Providence engageth the same mouth to sing Hosannah to him that cometh in the name of the Lord; That to morrow crieth Crucify him, Crucify him: such as conform their Religion to outward providence, shape a coat for the Moon; and like Baldwinus of whom Beza speaks, will have Religionem Ephemeram, an every days Religion, ab his ad istos, abillis ad hos leviter iens aut transiens: easily turning hither or thither as the Apostle Peter contending against, & anon constraining again to the ceremonies of the Jews: like the Samaritans, Gal. 2.14 brethren to Israel when favoured, but strangers and foes, when frowned on by Alexander: Like Eccebolius a Christian in time of Constantinus, an Infidel and Pagan in the time of Julian the Apostate: and again, a Christian on his death, changing his Religion with the Emperor, like the Melchites (a kind of mongrill Christians) who would be of the King's Religion: as those in 2 Kin. 17. Who feared the Lord and served other gods, feared the Lord that plagued them, and served other gods which pleased the King: so that luke warmness and fluctuation of Spirit, and change, is the result of making outward present providences, the reason of our assent and descent to any cause or course: Providence is a brave principle of Skepticisme, and a bar to Martyrdom: Our age is indeed an age of providences to be admired, and Skepticisme to be abominated: They make indeed few and very few, Martyrs, sometimes with hands lifted up to heaven, we vow and Covenant to God, and presently cast off our Covenant as an old Almanac out of date. One while we have zeal against Schisms and Heresies, and anon Toleration Of all professions is the only note of sanctity: we cannot keep constant in our very civils only; while we see God will have us ruled by a single person, and to him we basely bow, and again, by a republic, and for that we can engage and vow, we easily swear and promise faithfulness to any faction, for we do it on the principle of its present prosperity, and look not on our fidelity as due, longer than it succeeds: if it but begin to tumble we may break promise, and with violence throw it down: how sad have been the revolutions, our eyes have seen: how shameful the changes of men among whom we live? is not unconstancy a sin, a shame, and sad torment to humane spirits: Must men be like children, tossed to and fro with every wind? Like waves of the Sea, always rolling never resting? constancy, even in evil is more commendable than tepidity and Lukewarmness. I would you were either hot or cold. Is Christ his own desire of Lukewarm Laodicea. And if Baal be God follow him, Is Elijah his advice to haling Israel, less hateful are they to God that serve him not at all, than they that serve him with a rival, saith Bishop Hall, the Prophet rebuketh Israel, not so much for their superstition, as unsettledness and irreligion. How long will ye halt between two opinions? Peter's compliance with the prospering providence of the circumcision was with stood to his face by the Apostle Paul: to go upright in a wrong way, is a less eyesore to God, then to halt betwixt right and wrong: shall not Ecebolius proclaim himself by his providential changes unsavoury salt? is not Christ failed, and Christian Religion supplanted by unconstancy? Is Martyrdom a duty, or dignity? when to be done and enjoyed? If providence must guide our course, nor is there more shame and sin then sorrow in the minds uncertainty, and affections in stability, it's not only better in the end but very enjoyment, there cannot be a greater misery then for a man to be a burden & terror to himself: They (saith Cal.) who teach a doctrine of doubting exercent carnificinā animarum. Keep conscience on the Rack, and leave men to the torment of their own distracted thoughts. He (saith one) that cherisheth his own doubts, Mant non James 2.1.6. doth but hug a distemper instead of a duty: so long then as following providence leads us unto perplexing profane inconstancy: let us to the Law and testimony, and know rebellion is rebellion, though successful, and Skepticism in Religion, the shame of Christianity though accounted the Saint's moderation: Lawful authority the object of loyalty and fidelity, even when oppressed and ejected: Let us cleave to the Covenant of God against all changes of providences, Communication, persuasion or terrors whatsoever though it cost us never so de●r: whilst this age affords few Martyrs; Let it be our Emulation to be of the number of those few, however the wheel of providence doth alter, dispose, and change our condition; let us cleave to the Word, and be constant in an holy conversation towards God and towards men; motive. 3 But again, such as savour any cause, and follow any course because of its prospering providence: fall into an impudent and blasphemous course of sin. Profaneness is the natural product of marching after prospering providence, what impiety doth not issue from the prosperity of the profane? Leads it not unto all cruelty, oppression, injustice, and tyranny among men? Jam. 2.6 5.5, 6. pride, security, and sensuality in themselves? Psal 73.6. Nay, Atheism and irreligion, and open contempt of God and Godliness: when we call the proud happy, and they that work wickedness are set up, Mal. 3.17. Do not men say it is vain to serve God: prospering providences do many times feed Atheism, as it's very blood who would thimk there were a God? is the old observation of the oppressed just men, among the heathen: for the wicked succeeding say there is no God, he doth not regard, or he is altogether blasphemous, Psal. 10.11 and saith God is such an one as our selus, Psa. 50.21. and he abetteth our undertake, and delivereth us to work these abominations: Jer. 7.7. and so the wicked wax impudent in their impiety, because sentence against an evil work is not speedily executed, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil, Eccl. 8.11. So that whoever shall make providence the Principle of his persuasion, and guide of his conversation must make profaneness his course, and Atheism his Religion. What daring impieties have been devised, pursued, and effected by such as cry up providence for their guide? What open proclamation is made of divine providence, when men devise mischief, and enter upon it with holy fasting, and return from it with holy feasting? Oh the blasphemy of Jazabells fast! solemnly to implore divine help and favour, on treason, rebellion, perfidy, perjury, and all profaneness: Must not this needs speak that these men think that God is like themselves: faith only can under prospering providences consult the Word and conclude verily there is a God, and that an holy God, who ruleth the earth, verily there is a reward unto the righteous. We see then that making providence the ground of persuasion, and guide of our action, is of very dangerous consequence, and of a very sinful influence, whilst we forsake the Word, Gods standing rule, fall into an estate of uncertainty, and unconstancy, and follow profaneness with impudence and blasphemy, In which very respect Christians may, much more than heathen prey, Careat successibus opto, qui ab eventu, etc. Success be wanting unto him who maketh, Event the rule of what he undertaketh. So long then as the most prospering providence may attend the profanest wretches; Let us learn this first lesson, favour no cause, nor follow any course because it prospereth, & so we proceed to the second instruction propounded. Find no content in a condition of Instruct. 2 outward prosperity; Let not the blessings of this life puff you up as blessed, or the want of them cast you down as cursed of God. place not your bliss on sublunary enjoyments: The things of this life, peace, plenty, health honour, wealth, and worship, I deny not to be blessings even as the Apostle calls them precious fruits of the Earth: Jam. 5.7. Things they are that must be received with thanksgiving, but they must not take up our hearts as the only objects of our affections, expectations, and endeavous, in the enjoyment of which we should be satisfied and deem ourselves happy, and in the want of which we should be sadned, because cursed and undone, and to the obtainment of which we should lay out our whole care and diligence. No there are blessings of an higher nature, which we are to regard and pursue, if ever we will possess true happiness: man's nature is indeed too much glued to the world, and if we have but our wills in outward things, we look no higher; Like the Prodigal we are content with a spending portion, which may satisfy our lust, we matter not for the Patrimony and inheritance: And like the fool in the Gospel, sing a Requiem to our soul, take thine ease, if we have but goods laid up for many years, never considering what shall become of the immortal soul: there is no one duty so often inculcated, and earnestly enforced in the Scripture, as to sit lose in our affections to the things of this world. It is pressed by our Saviour and all his Apostles, and that with many pregnant arguments, and pathetical persuasions; Mat. 6.20.33. 1 Jo. 2.15. not to lay up treasures for ourselves upon earth, not to love the world, or the things of the world, but look after the Kingdom of heaven, & the Righteousness thereof: And all this is enforced with the patterns and examples of Abraham, and the Patriarches. Moses and the Prophets who never pitched their tents on Earth, but but looked for a city whose founder and maker is God: Heb. 11. By all which we must needs know ourselves as Christians bound to much caution, that our hearts be not captivated with outward comforts, and conclude not our happiness in the prospering providences of this life, that we never say, Father give us the portion that to us belongeth, if we well consider, though God bless us with health, and an hopeful family, wealthful treasures and possessions; that with Dives we far deliciously every day; with success and victory in our achievements, that we are delivered out of all straits, and escape all dangers; Yet we must not be content and cry, we are blessed, we have what we would: The soul must look further, and not be herein satisfied for these considerations. Common providences do convey motive. 1 them to us: There is not in these enjoyments any expressions of special love and affection: They are good things, but only general good is stamped on them: they are indeed God's gift, but given in common to creatures, not in special to his Children, they cannot conclude us under divine favour and affection, but rather the contrary: The soul of man is a spark of deity and will not be satisfied without God himself; in Gods special love and peculiar favour, as a Father reconciled in Jesus Christ, in the pardon of sin, sanctification of the soul, society with God and Christ, consists true happiness; health, peace, wealth, honour, prosperity, success, all outward things are common provisions of God's family and food, of his servants not the special fare of his Children: they may share but never be satisfied in them; God's rain doth indeed fall on the just and unjust, and his Sun doth shine on the good and bad; sPa. 31.19. but he hath great good things laid up for them that fear him, and however the men of the world do cry out after these common comforts, who will show us any good? God's dear david's do cry, Psa. 4.6, 7. Lord lift up the light of thy countenance, it shall make me more joyful and glad then when Corn and Wine and Oil increaseth. For his only prayer is, Oh remember me with the favour thou bearest to thy own people, and visit me with thy salvation: That I may see the goodness of thy chosen, that I may rejoice in the gladness of thy Nation; That I may glory with thy inheritance, Psalm 106.4, 5. Peculiar favour distinguishing love; special salvation is the only delight and satisfaction of a gracious heart, however the heathen in their ordinary dictates of blessedness would with Cicero make the enjoyment of health, possession of honour, and immunity from want, the three choice things to be wished to a friend, yet Christians must breathe after Paul's wish; Grace, mercy and peace, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Yet the wisest heathen in their serious thoughts of true happiness, Quaeriteprimum bona animi. Cice. could not but advise a care for more than the common blessings of nature: 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Aristot. Eth. lib. 8. cap. 71 Cicero commends the care of the soul as first and chief: and Aristotle's advice is first and chief to take care of Divine things, hence it was that Scipio went always to the capital, before the Senate, and on this account Numae Pompilius would not be diverted from his devotion by the alarm of his enemies approach, but answered at Egor 'em divinam facio, I am serving God. But how much more should Christians prefer divine favour above all outward prosperity? it is possible, nay it is common for the profanest wretches to possess the most common providences: they not only fall in common on the Righteous, and the wicked, but most usually, woe is in this World to the Righteous; their happiness & satisfactions are hereafter: the things of this life are in Scripture, and not without ground, called, the portion of the wicked; that share of God's goodness they must ever possess; & the wages of unrighteousness which are not only offered, but ordinarily are given by the God of this world, as the recompense of the wicked: Christ himself observeth that the false Prophets were usually fed, rich, & well spoken of: but yet liable to a woe, whilst the true Prophets were poor, hungry, and reproached; Luke 6.23.26. yet the heirs of the blessing; the sinner may do evil an hundred times, and his days be prolonged; with a yet it shall not go well with the wicked. Eccles. 8.12, 13. Dives may far deliciously all his life long, and be damned when he dyeth; James 5.1, 2, 3, 4, 5. the rich men may enjoy pleasures on earth, with a cause to howl and weep; they are not in any peculiar relation to God not as Children, because fed with his common good things, this is but prison provision, they are not Redeemed by Christ, because released from present sorrows; sin is not pardoned because they prosper, no, you have heard before, that these may be miserable mercies, testimonies of the highest wrath. It is not for Christians to be content with what is common to the elect and reprobate; no they must not rest till they see themselves in favour and friendship with God, enjoying special love, let them be but Children, and no matter if they be chastised every day, let the covenant of grace convey their condition, and no matter if it be correction; let their comforts stream in the blood of Christ, though they bring the Cross with them: let them be God's Jewels, and no matter if the Proud be called Happy, etc. A truly gracious heart: like a Pilgrim useth the world as not possessing it, and quiets his souls in reversion, not present possession, with David expects to be satisfied, when he ariseth in God likeness, and beholdeth God's face in Righteousness. Psal. 17.15 Sins pardon, the Spirit of adoption, hopes of Resurrection, are special favours, and afford content in all crosses, conditions, and comforts, with which the wicked must not meddle. Prospering providences in this motive. 2 World are scarcely consistent with true piety. Holiness will hardly be maintained under outward happiness: I do not say they are not at all consistent; grace and greatness may centre in the same subject, and stand together: for outward happiness is a blessing, though of the left hand, and without its specialty: yet not many wise, 1 Cor. 1.26 not many noble, not many rich, but ordinarily the weak and foolish things of this world God hath chosen; Christ hath noted in it a difficulty unto nature's impossibility, A Camel may more easily pass thorough the eye of a needle, than a rich man enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. Ordinarily ●he rich in faith chosen by God, are the poor of this World. The Apostle requireth a great deal of caution, and vigilancy in the rich men of this world, prospering in their outward condition; they must be charged often, and with authority, That they be not high minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God; that they do good, and be rich in good works, and ready to distribute. 1 Tim. 6.17, 18. And this not without great reason for they that desire to be rich, fall into a temptation and a snare, and many foolish and hurtful lusts that drown men in perdition. v. 9 You have heard before, that pride, oppression, injustice, nay Atheism and irreligion are too often the product of prospering providences. The wicked flourish in all enjoyments, and meet with no adversity; Their Kine calve, Bull genders, their eyes stand out with fatness, there is no bands in their death, therefore pride compasseth their necks as a chain, therefore they say unto God depart from us therefore they say God is altogether such a one as themselves. How many Demas-like embrace the present world, & forsake the faith; how many will to eternity lament their prosperity & freedom from sorrow? like many a cockered child when brought to the Gallows, curse parental indulgence, which reproved but never restrained their proprophanesse. Shall we ever be content with sins snares, the world's fetters? are we not taught to pray lead us not into temptation? must not every gracious soul desire neither poverty nor riches, Prov. 30.8. lest being full he deny God? Difficile est ut presentibus bonis quis fruatur & futuris; ut hic ventrem illic mentem reficiat; ut de deliciis ad delicias transeat: ut in coelo & in terra gloriosus appareat Be●u. those men that can keep humble hearts under high enjoyments find an hard task; Gregory the Great did always tremble when he read those words. Son remember in thy life time thou receivedst thy good things, for said Bernard, It is exceeding hard to enjoy good here, and hereafter to pass from pleasure to pleasure, to be both glorious in earth and heaven: the very wicked tremble when they observe the profane attempts to which they are pricked in their pospering providences; Pope Adrian the sixth, said, nothing more unhappy in the world ever befell him then having been the head of the Church & Monarch of the Christian Commonwealth: and Pope Pius the fifth, said, When I first entered into Orders, I had some hope of my salvatoin, when I became a Cardinal I doubted, when Pope I despaired of it: Earth is no mean hindrance to Heaven, or the world an enemy to holiness, how many men in their low estates, whilst servants, have with Hazaell detested the thoughts of murder, treason, rebellion, perfidy perjury, cruelty, and mischief? with an Is thy servant a dead Dog? which act, after, when advanced and set up in the World, they have acted with an high hand: whilst outward blessings are not only common to the wicked with the Godly, but sad occasions and temptations unto 3d. motive. sin, let us never be contented with them▪ But again Prospering providences are not continuing, there is no certainty in any outward condition, humane enjoyments are as changeable as the moon, and turn like the motions of the wheel. Adonibezecke, who but lately had threescore Kings under his own Table, with their thumbs and great toes cut off, is shortly himself the subject of the same, oppression and scorn: brave Belesarius the Roman General is shortly brought to his dato obolu●u Belesario, to beg a halfpenny. Proud Bainzet, that thunders against the whole world, soon is brought to chatter in an Iron cage, as a captive. Riches take the wings of the morning, and are gone: how many times do we see the wicked flourisly like a green bay tree, but suddenly cut down and gone, bo●h st●ck and branch: the tr●asures of the earth are obnoxious to rust and rape: they are things seen, and so temporal, if we lived not in a changing age, wherein our eyes see not strange and sudden Revolutions; I might amplify the transiency of the things of the world, but we must all witness, man in his glittering glory, to be but grass that is soon withered: Christians must always look for losses and stand ready to take joyfully the spoiling of their goods: and therefore must it make it them diligent to know in themselves that they have a better and more enduring substance and whilst prospering providences are common temptations unto sin, and of no continuance, let u● never be contented with such a condition. And that is the second instructiont. The third followeth, and that is, Instruct. 3 Fret not at the prosperity of the wicked: let it be your care to look to look to your passions, when most prospering providencs do attend the profanest wretches: the passions are the force of men's souls and will prove precipitate if not bridled by reason and Religious understanding: there is nothing more naturally pro o●i●g to humane passions, than the prosperity of the wick●d. When we see it go well wi●h the worst o● men we are not only envious at them but ●pt to be angry with God, and at enmity with Godliness. It is no great wonder to hear Caesar when vanquished by Pompey, to conclude there was a a mist upon the eye of providence, when David in a little distress could bruitishly conclude, God hath forgotten to be gracious, and will be merciful no more: and shall we think it strange that the wicked cry out It is in vain to serve or to keep his statutes and to walk mournfully before him, Psal. 77. ●. 9. when even the godly themselves are ready to resolve they have, in vain, washed their hands in innocency, and cleansed their hearts: the success of the wicked is and ever hath been the stumbling stone of the Godly against this they have spurned, Psal. 73. on it they have fallen, and been by it fearfully wounded, David in a discontent is ready to determine against piety, and Jeremiah cannot but plead with God, and that in passion. Jer. 12.1, 2, 3, 4. And so also Habakkuck, but David having recovered himself, strengtheneth his brethren; and to that end, hath penned that eminently useful 37 Psal. to be studied by all who meet with the stormy tempest of wicked men's welfare. Let me commend it to your reading & study, & lay it as a bridle on your passions, and fret not, grieve envy and care not when the proud are called Happy, etc. I say grieve not at the greatness of the wicked, they must fall, their fall will be fearful; envy not their enjoyments, they are but common favours; prison provision, and will cost them dear, for the day is coming, yea at hand, when they must have their evil things, and Dives must be tormented, they may now pass blessed without our envy, for it is the whole of their blessedness if ever a day of death and judgement come, they must go cursed for ever: and yet their present happiness is fading and transient, the wheel is running round, and then they whom we now see in estate and pomp, we see no mo●e: be not careful of the estate of t●e godly, it shall go well with the Ri hteous, however it be at present, God is good to them that are pure in spirit, their little is sweetened with God's blessing; the very prosperity of the wicked shall work for their good., Learn to live by faith and patience contended with the disposals of God; not suffering your passions to make you think or speak foolishly of God or enviously of the wicked. Keep close to duty make it your care to maintain sincerity, and calmly with a composed spirit wait we on God in the worst of times, for if the proud are called happy, and they that work wickedness are set up, etc. Yet there hath no temptation befallen us, but what is common: So it hath been, so it will be, and so it must be. Quaerela Piorum OR, Godly conference, the exercise o● 〈◊〉 godly, in the ●imes o● prospering profaneness. The second part of the discourse, on ●●al. 3.15, 16, 17. First preached at butolph's Algate, London, an● afterwards contracted, and delivered in Peter's Church, West-Chester, one Lords day 17. July, 1659. in after noon. Mal. 3.16, 17, 18. Then they that feared the Lord spoke often one to another. I Have heretofore presented this Text to your consideration, and divided it into three general points. The estate of the wicked. Now we call the proud happy. ver. 15. The exercise of the godly: Then they that feared the Lord spoke often etc. ver. 6. The event of both, The Lord hearkened. etc. Have done with the First of these; and therein shown the estate of the wicked, now we call the proud happy, etc. Whereby you understand that most prsopering providences do frequently attend the profanest wretchet. The next thing to be considered, is the holy exercise of the godly in such prosperous profane time. They are men of activity and must be employed; they fit not still when all the World are stirring; nay they are Godly men fearing the Lord; and following providence unto the duties thereby dictated, they must carry like selves in these sinful successful times; and how is that? Is it to sail with the wind? Row with the tide? Fellow the the multitued to do evil? and by the success of sin, prosperity of profaneness; to be swayed in their judgement to threw off a course of godliness? renounce the truth? and recede from religion? to resolve with the proud now called happy, that it in vain to serve God & it is no profit to walk mourn fully before him all the day long? Oh, no? this is not the carriage of the godly, they read no such lesson in all God's providence; they dare not make any such inference fro● the premises of prospering profaneness: they easily assent unto Jobs proposition, Job. 12.6. The Tabernacle of robbers do prosper, and they are in safety that provoke God, whom God hath enriched with his hand, Job. 15.4. but yet they withstand the inference of Eliphaz, thou restrainest prayer before God, and conclude with David, Two is good for us to draw near to G●d: Whilst they see men succeed in sin, Psalm 3.28 and therefore set their mouths against heaven, and speak stout words against God, they as men solicitous for their own establishment in piety under so strong temptations, and studious of the support of others; that God and godliness may not want witnesses in the worst of times, speak often one unto another. These words are rendered by Montanus, tunc vastati sunt timen●es dominum. Then they that feared the Lord were wasted ●nd destroyed, (Scil.) by the impious Atheists who prevailed and invaded them; the proud who were called happy, and bend their violence against them, and the word which is here used, is indeed used to signify divastation and destruction: Thus in 2 Cron. 22.10. Psal. 2.5. But in this place it can in no wise be so understood, it being here used by the holy Ghost, to express the exercise, not the estate of the godly in such sinful prosperous times & therefore is by all other expositors, & in all other versions expressed as in our English Translation, Then they that feared the Lord spoke often one to another and the cohaerence of the Text must needs ●eade us to this sense of the words. The words might (should we insist on them) be divided into these three parts. 1. A religious act or exercise they spoke often one to another. 2. The subjects of this act or exercise, not every man, but some under special qualification, they that feared the Lord. 3. The season of this act and exercise, and that not only when religion prospered, and was pleaded for: but then when men could speak against God, and the proud were called happy, &c Each of these parts would afford as a very profitable observation or point of Doctrine, as from the time and season when these that feared God did thus speak one unto another: Then, when men spoke stout words, against God: And scornfully against godliness, and said it was vanity; when none fared so well as the worst; when profaneness was the only passage to preferment, the most graceless appeared greatest, then, when if men wou●d serve God they must serve him for nought: we cannot but observe. Obser. Prospering profaneness is good men's provocation to piety. Succesuful sin is the Saints season of zeal in acts of piety; they are best in the worst times, most wary to walk with God when all men war against him; to cleave to Christ. when all forsake him: to adhere to holiness, when nothing but hardship attends it: to appear against profaneness, when all men appear in it, and make advantage by it: to serve God when men cry generally it is vain to serve God, and abstain from impiety, when only they who work wickedness are set up: they are awed by a divine command, not acted by the current of providence, or course of the world: however the proud are called happy, and they that tempt God are even delivered: they dare not fallow the multitde to do evil: But with Noah by faith build the Ark, however derided by a prodhane world, and with Lot, do grieve for, and complain of the abominations of Sodom, though the men abhor and seek to destroy him: 1 King. 32.13. with Michaiah, they They will speak the mind of God, though 400. Prophet's speak the mind of the King: with Antipas, suffer martyrdom and the Church of Pergamus hold fast the name of Christ, Rev. 2.13. and deny not the faith, when Satan his seat is set among them: With Athanasius will conclude, for the faith when the whole Empire is Arrian, and with Luther, enforce reformation, when Pope, Bishops, Emperor, and Kings are against him: Thus they approve the sincerity of grace, and uprightness of their hearts, by standing in a storm, abiding the utmost influence of temptation and serving God for naught, Jam. 1.5. leaving all outward comforts for a naked Christ and his Cross: Animate their weak brothers, Phillip 1.14. by their confidence for, and constancy in the waves of God, under so sharp conflicts, and sad discouragements as they meet withal: Answer, the expectation of God, who disposeth them into trouble, for the trial of their faith; and expect to have it found unto praise honour and glory in the day of the Lord Jesus, 1 Pet. 1.7. and therefore triumphantly observeth their faith and patience: And abate the insolency and contempt of the wicked, whose ways are rebuked by the good conversation of the godly, their very keeping of the law is a contending against the wicked; Phil. 2.16. among whom they live as lights in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, holding forth the word of life. How repugnant to the carriage of the good men is the Tepidity, Luke warmness, nay changeableness and Apostasy of those vespertine professors of Religion that square their principles and piety according to the company, times and places, where, and among whom they live. So long as Religion flowrisheth, they are the forwardest in pleading for it but if profaneness prosper they shake hands with piety. and do as the most do, that they may be least spoken of, what ever becomes of their conscience they will make sure to sleep in a whole skin: and if their age afford but few Martyrs, they make sure that they will be none of the number: they are great adorers of providence unto the disobedience of precepts and degeneration from all holy men, whose care is in times of prospering profaneness to provoke themselves and others unto zeal and seriousness in acts of piety: but of this I shall speak more hereafter, Secondly. From the subjects of this holy exercise they that feared the Lord we shoul observe this point of doctrine. The fear of God is the spur and preservation of piety in times of prospering profaneness. Observe. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, Psal. 111 10. by it men depart from iniquity; the want of the fear of God is the ground of all impiety and it. religion When Abraham travels he expects all acts of violence & cruelty in Egypt and Gerar, because the fear of God is not in this place: and the unjust Judge is described by this note he feared not God, nay when men's throats become an open sepulchre, and with their tongues they use deceit, the poison of Asps is under their lips: their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness, their feet is swift to shed blood. It is because there is no fear of God before their eyes, Roma. 3, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18. But the fear of God is the bridle of corruption: joseph's nature is restrained with, an hue shall I do this great wickedness, and sin against God: the bar unto temptation, the fear of him that can cast the soul and body into Hell, makes us scorn the allurements of the world, and scoff at the rage of men, and utmost suffering can overtake us in the way of piety: and the hand of holiness, that we cannot cease to pray unto God though we be, with Daniel, cast into the Lion's Den: The fear of God, and only the fear of God is the spur of piety, when we row against the stream of the world, & the preservative of religion when we see a general apostasy seconded, with the height of prosperity. Let it be noted that this fear of God must be spiritual, not natural ingenious & filial, not slavish as of a vassal, it must be a fear of reverence sensibly apprehending God's holiness, power, justice majesty, and all his attributes, and that great desparitie & disproportion which is between God and us, which was in Abraham constraining him, to cry out I●hat am but dust & ashes having taken upon me to speak unto the Lord: Gen. 18.27. And in Isaiah, I am a man of polluted lips, & live among a people of polluted lips & I have seen the Lord of host: Isa. 6.5. The carriage of Saints, must be as becomes the Children of so great a God, & so glorious majesty. The fear of sense awfully affecting the hair with the horror of God's fearful judgements, dreadfully discerning that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of a living God, this led Josiah to the renting of his garments and humbling himself before the Lord; and made the marked of God in Jerusalem, mourn for her abominations Ezek. 9.4. Stupidity under God's judgements threatened or inflicted is folly. Jer. 5.2. security and senselessnesse of the symptoms of God's anger, is a note of stubbornness incotrigible; and fasteneth a guilt indelible, Isa. 22.16. Deut. 29. 1●, 20, The fear of diligence attending all dangerous assaults of sin, and animating unto most difficult duties of holiness, as the soldier standing sentinel and lying perdue in a Land of peace, keeping an Army undermilitary discipline in a conquered Land, working out their own salvation with fear & trembling because it is God that worketh in them to will and to do, of his own good pleasure. No marvel if few be found pleading f●r God & cleaving to his covenant in evil backsliding days for there are not many that fear the Lord: if we will be of the number of the men that speak one to another in evil tims; will be spurred to piety, and kept from iniquity; will steer our course by precepts, not by providence cleave close to the covenant of God, when all men count it, & carry towards it, as analmanack out of date: will we commend God's truth, justice & faithfulness, and manifest godliness with contentment to be gain when the prosperity of profaneness, make most men say it's in vain to serve God & no profit to walk mournfully before him all the day, the proud are only happy: Let it be our care study & prayer to fill our minds with the fear of the Lord. But on these circumstances I must not insist, intending to acquaint you of, and effect you with the exercise itself which was especially performed by these, God fearing men in these sin successful times & that is holy language, heavenly discourse, godly conference the sweet breath of their sound hearts, in an hypocritical age: the evidence of their heart's fullness of piety, thus venting its abundance: the expression of their care by the words of the wise to preserve knowledge? whilst the evil communication of the prosperous profane did corrupt good manners, They that feared the Lord spoke often one unto anthere, whence we shall propound to your serious thoughts, Doct. this observation or point of Doctrine. The success of profaneness must stir up the truly pious to speak often one to another. Or thus Prospering profaneness doth provoke the godly to frequent conference. Many are the exercises of piety enjoined by the Lord to be duly performed by his people, some are personal & concern only a particular soul but others are public, & to be used unto the conviction of the wicked & confirmation of the godly against all temptations that assault them: and these are not only the administrations of word & sacraments, in, and to the Church in general: but also admonitions & expostulations of particular Saints, in more private and particular societies expressing the thoughts of their hearts by the help of the tongue and communicating their gifts and graces to each other by godly & religions conference. Godly conference and christian confabulation is an absolute duty, and apparent act of the Communion of Saints; Incumbent on all the members of Jesus Christ, and brethren in the faith to be carefully performed by all that pray for, and in their places propagate the perfection of the whole body, by the supply of every particular Joint: This duty is not indeed fixed unto time, place, and order as are some other acts of worship, and duties of religion, but to be exercised as occasion calls for it; and opportunity doth enforce it: no condition, time or season is unsuitable for holy conference when ever good men have occasion of commerce, and opportunity of serious communication: yet some estates of the Church doth more enforce it, and an enquiry of opportunity to enjoy it, then others: when the tongues of the wicked do walk proudly through the earth, the tongues of the godly must be tuned for Heaven when the profane, glutted with their prospering providences do speak pride and blasphemy, and that in talking stoutly against God and and openly affirm it. It is in vain to serve God, it is no profit to walk mournfully before him all the day, for that the proud are called happy., Then above all times is it a time for them that fear the Lord, to speak often one unto another, though our words must be always seasoned with grace, and our care must ever be to admonish one another, yet more especially, when assaulted with the temptation of prospering profaneness: then our ordinary language, and our often discourse must be holy conference. This hath been the care and carriage of them that feared the Lord in all ages of the world, you shall not find the old World filled with pride, security, and sensuality, but Noah the preacher of Righteousness will be speaking of, and preparing for the approaching Flood: Nor shall you read of the Captivity of Righteous Lot, but also of Abraham's consultation with his chatechised servants for his rescue & conference with Melchizedeck: & Israel's oppression cannot increase by the pride of prosperous Egypt, Gen. 14. but Moses & Aron will confer of the mind of God, concerning their deliverance and their own duty towards it: Exod. 4.14.15, 16. saul's pride and blasphemies pass not without the serious conferences of Jonathan and David: Sam. 18.19 Job is no sooner brought into distress, but his friends gather about him to confer of the things of God, though they make false conclusions, yet they discoursed right & religious premises, Ahab succeeds not in his idolatry, but we shall find the Prophet Elijah and Elisha, and he and Obadiah in godly conference: nor can Jesus Christ be crucified and blasphemed at Jerusalem, Luk. 24.13. but his disciples will discourse as they walk to Emmen, of the things that befell him: nor shall the Roman Emperors in their prosperity oppress the Faith, and afflict the Roman Christians, but the Apostle Paul longs to see them, to the end, he may impart unto them some spiritual good, that they may be established, we shall not read in sacred or Ecclesiastic story of the success of profaneness which did not stir up the holy conference of the godly: The fellowship of the Saints, is never so visible, as in the suffering seasons of the Church, Arius prosperity unto persecution, made the Orthordox, resort one to another with frequency. Marian pride, in the success of Popery made the Protestant reformers to confer with diligence, the things of truth and of salvation: the late prelatical cruelty was the spur of the Puritans Conventicles (as in derision, their holy conferences were called) for in such times as these, if ever; Communion of Saints is necessary, profitable, and comfortable, for than they That fear the Lord speak often one to another. By way of complaint of sin and sorrow, the wickedness of men and dark providences of God, that the heart may, be affected with both, and they may as becomes them, mourn for the abominations which abound, and the blasphemies which are proudly, belched against God, his name, truth, Ordinances, and people in this day of prospering profaneness: and duly pray the diversion of these dark providences; which are so dishonourable to God and discouraging, to Godliness: sin must not succeed in the World, or sorrow seize on the Saints without their sensible observation, and sad, but serious expostulation with God, and each with others [by way of confirmation] each of others spirit, against the strong influence of so sore temptations: we have before noted, that the prosperity of the wicked, is a very great stumbling stone to the godly? at this David spurned, and had almost slipped unto the condemning the generation of the just, Psal 7.3.7. and charging vanity on the course of piety. On this Peter, fell to the denial of his Lord and Master, making him with more than ordinary earnestness, inquire his affection to him, Peter lovest thou me? Peter lovest thou me? Peter lovest thou me: It is strange if Ahabs insolency in his Idolatry, make not all even the best of Israel to halt between two opinions, and most to fall into flat and open Idolatry: when the multitude do evil, those few who will not follow them have need to cleave close together: if ever the fe●ble knees must be strengthened, it must be when they stumble at the prosperity of profaneness: If ever the godly will be armed against impiety, it must be when it ascends the there, and becomes the stirrup of authority, and sole principle of preferment: and if they will ever speakne couragingly of waiting on God, and walking with him in holiness it must be when most men discouragingly determine God hath forsaken the Earth, doth not regard the righteous, It's in vain to serve him: when the success of profaneness, is the soul object of sense, and the dark providences of God, the cloud of his truth, and check of holiness, then must Godly conference awe conscience to duty and animate faith, to dependence on a never failing God. But not to stay long on the illustration of a duty, so positive and plain, even obvious to the common capacity of every sober christian seriously studious of Scripture, or observant of the society of the Saints, I shall briefly propound the reason of the point, and so pass unto the application. And the reasons why the prosperity of profaneness must provoke the godly to holy conference are reducible to these three heads. It is Directed by, and delighfull to the Lord. Declareth the sincerity of sanctity, Deriveth much profit, & advantage. Of these in their order; and first of the first. The First reason why prospering profaneness, should provoke holy conference is because holy conference is directed by, and delightful to the Lord: the desire of the righteous is to do the pleasure of the Lord, and his delight is not more in them that fear him; then theirs is to make mention of his name. Now holy conference is a duty by him directed, who doth also dispose the time, & condition that doth specially reqvire the discharge there of: fraternal correption friendly confabulation is not only a duty directed in the light of nature by the necessity of public good, and natural enjoyment and improvement of humane society, but also by positive prescription of scripture: God enjoining his people, both in the old and new Testament times, unto mutual colloquy, and reciprocal conference of, and concerning his council, and their own condition: we shall find amongst other soul establishing means appointed to Israel, that one was frequent and familiar conference of divine council, he must not only learn the law himself and Catechise his Family therein, but also make it the matter of his or dinarie languag Thou shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest in thy way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up: Deuternomie, 9.7. Family and friendly conference must be conversant about God's Law, let our company be at home or abroad, this must be our discourse, for exciting the soul to duty, and encouragement of the heart in difficulty, and to the restraint of sin, it is Gods own direction that we shall rebuke a brother, by all brotherly argumentation discourse and conference with him concerning his impiety Levit. 19.17. He is by words to show him, what is right, and what is wrong, saith Ainsworth, nor was this religious reasoning, peculiar to the Jews, by whom it was in an Ordinary and familiar way practised: but it belongs to the whole household of faith, and is more fully enjoined by the Lord Jesus and his Apostles in the New Testament: who makes private conference with his brother, the praecursor of public complaint against a brother, Mat. 11.15, 16. and positively enjoins us in days of temptation unto sin, to exhort one another daily whilst it is called to day, Heb. 3.13. And consider one another to provoke unto love and good works, Heb. 10.24. To admonish one another, Rom 15.14. To comfort one another, 1 Thes. 5.11. Judas 20. All which is done by conference and friendly discourse: and declare but the several parts thereof, sometimes by complaint against sin, warning the unruly; sometimes by counsel unto duty exhorting and quickening the dull and discouraged: sometimes by convincing arguments establishing in the faith such as are in danger of Apostasy: and sometimes by consideration of mercy, power, justice, and the like confirming the mind that waxeth feeble in affliction: so that we must throw away our Bibles, or wilfully shut our eyes if we see not holy conference be a duty directed by the Lord, and especially to be discharged in evil times when we are under temptations to sin, discouragements to holiness, and despondency in affliction. Nor is it only directed by, but also delightful to the Lord; it cannot but be pleasing to him, because prescribed by him: and indeed God doth signify much delight in the discourses of the Godly: their complaints he calls for, Let me hear thy voice, for it is pleasant, Cant. 2.14. Their communication is his complacency: Our Father loves to see his children distribute his sweet meats among their brethren: he gives neither gifts nor graces to any for their sole private use, but the public edification of the body; every one must distribute as he hath received: if the Apostles be comforted it is that they may comfort others, by the selfsame consolation with which they are comforted in themselves, 2 Cor 1.5. and if the Romans be full of goodness and knowledge it is, that they may admonish one another. God will not that any of his servants hid their Talon, and conceal his counsel; they must indeed keep their places, and administer the supply proper to such joints. Private conference is distinct from public preaching: and the one as well as the other tends to the perfecting of the body of Christ. Private conference in families and friendly societies; and preaching to the Church & in public Ministry, and each of these make sweet music in God's ear, if not marred in the order: the hand miscarrieth when it would become the eye, and the foot when it would be the head. Private conference is to be contemned when it presseth upon public Ministry, and becomes provoking to God: (but of this I shall speak more in the application) otherwise it is exceeding pleasing to God: so delightful that David determines the talking of God's righteousness, as the p●easant holding of his songs of praise, Psa. 71.24. and cheering of his own drooping and desponding spirits as the help against diffidence, he will talk of all Gods do, Psal. 77.12. he accounts it to be the precious and pleasant fruit of all his instruction and eminently to be esteemed by the Lord, he prays for that oil that may make this Lamp ever burn, make me to understand the w●y of thy precepts, so shall I talk of all thy wondrous works, Psal. 119. 27. God's esteem of the holy language and heavenly discourse of his people in profane times is emphatically expressed in the text, when they that feared the Lord spoke one nnto another the Lord harkened and heard; and a book of remembrance was written for them and they shall be mine, etc. There are three expressions of God's acceptance of his godly conference. 1. He regards it, he heareth and hearkeneth, he listeneth, and layeth his ear close as loath to loof one syllable of this holy language. 2. He records it as fearing it should be forgotten, a book of remembrance is written, and that not in the earth where it may be trampled out by profane feet, but before himself; where it shall be conserved with care, and free from the least corruption, as fit for his own contemplation. 3. Rewards it and puts more honour on them then ever Ahashuerosh did on Mordecay when by the record of his good service his oblivion was alarumed, for his compassion doth work towards them, he is pierced to the heart with this holy language; his pity is provoked to spare them as a man spareth his own son, which serveth him; Nay his complacency is in them, they shall be his is propriety and his jewels in peculiarity, whose hearts cause such holy language in so bad and evil times: (but of these I shall speak more fully hereafter) we see then what delight God takes in holy conference, no tender parent can with more delight listen to the tattlings of her babe; or lay up in her heart the pretty prudent reasons urged by the child and set her heart on the child, with more serious and compassionate affections than God doth to his people in their holy conference: nor is, it to be wondered at; for this discourse is the expression of the thoughts of his holy name which they fear: and evidence of those zealous affections they bear unto the honour of his name, & ways of his holiness; and this leads me to the 2d. Reason of the point: Prospering profaneness provokes Reason. 2 holy conference to declare the sincerity of sanctity: God loves the truth in the inward parts; hypocrisy is to God an abomination: all outward profession of his name and attendance on his ordinances are of no value without, sincere sanctity, and an upright heart, he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is that circumcision which is of the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and whose circumcision is of the heart, whose praise is not of men but of God: such as will be delight unto the Lord, must be upright in heart; the integrity of the heart covereth many infirmities, God winks at the weakness of his sincere servants, whose hearts are right before him: men's care must be to manifest that holy conference in evil times; as an evident declaration of sincere grace, such as have superficial and temporary graces may be forward in common and ordinary acts of holiness and religion; but are estranged to and careless of the rare and extraordinary acts thereof. Common Christians, make some care of public exercises of Religion; such as hearing, Reading, and the like ordinances of the Church in common, but when acts of private and personal concernment are to to be performed, they think them needless and superfluous; all specialties in Religion are in their account singularities, and niceties and the agents in them deemed busy bodies, and giddy spirits making themselves over righteous, but the sincere make conscience of keeping all God's commands and performing every prescribed duty as well those which are private and personal, as those which are public and common: and in this their speaking one to another, there are these evidences of their sincere holiness. 1. It is an especial service to God, a speaking to him, & for him, complaining of the dishonour done to him, & confirming each others in adependence on him: holy conference in so sinful times, under so sad discouragements doth spring out of an heart. 1. Apprehensive of present affairs, observant of the dispensations of God towards his people; security & senslesness under god's hand, is the object of a wo. God threatens sensuality as a sin indelible. I●a 22.13. & non-apprehension of his people's affliction with most heavy judgements, to live at ease in Lion, and not to regard the affliction of Joseph is the work of an hypocrite and an high transgression. Amos 6.4. But to apprehend God's anger provoked, and his hand lifted up, the Lord looks on that with delight, Josiah shall die in peace because his heart was tender when he heard the words of the Lord against Jerusalem. 2 Cor. 34.27. And the mourners for all Jerusalem's abominations make such melody in God's ears, that they shall be the marked of the Lord in the day of Jerusalem's desolation. Ezek. 9 It is a kind check Godgives Samuel for mourning over saul's rejection. 1 Sam. 16.1. It is an how long? not why dust thou mourn for Saul? the matter was pleasing, the measure is burdensome and to be blamed. 2. Affectionate and ardent for God's honour. Their good thoughts did heat their affections, and make them to boil over into holy conference, heat of heart towards God must have vent of tongue for God thus when David mused, the fire waxed hot, until he at length was constrained to break his resolved silence, zeal for God's honour, grief for sins success sets the Godly on conference each to others; holy language is the Ruptures of the heated affections and provoked passions of an holy heart. The Parent's danger will make that child speak who never spoke before; Stephen spoke with such fullness & fervency, as when the commotions of his soul stirred by the blasphemies of the Jews shown him to be full of the holy Ghost. Acts 7. 3. Associated to the Saints. Communion of Saints is an Article of Creed, and advantage of grace to every sincere soul: Schism cannot be a sign of sanctity, it is a fruit of the flesh, never was any savingly nverted, but he presently sought Communion with the Church; for extra Ecclesiam nulla salus, no salvation without the pale of the Church. Saul is no sooner become a Paul, but he assayed to join himself to the Church. Act. 9.26. No member of the Church must be idle and dead or unprofitabl, bu● must giveth and receive nutriment towards the increase of the whole body, every joint must supply its proper part; which is, and can only be done by holy conference. Good lives and languages are the Church's veins in which the blood of God's word doth run unto its strength and growth: so that the men who manifest life in their union with the Church are careful to maintain Communion, and they that confirm themselves by holy conference in evil times, do evidence themselves in society with, and serviceable to the Saints. Colloquy is an act of Communion conference is in company. 4. Adhaerence unto God: professions are the souls obligations, purposes bind a man at his own good will and pleasure, and are alterable; but promises, professions and public discourses provoke other men's observation and expectation of performance and accomplishment, and so abide not within our power: conscience of a backsliding spirit doth bring many of the Saints under the bond of promises, professions, and good conference; from which they cannot start without shame: but conference of God and Religion in times of prospering profaneness proclaim a resolution of adhaerency a care against apostasy by such confirming soul-establishing Colloquies. They must needs resolve to follow God & piety who are fervent in discourse for, and of them when they find no favour in the World: an heart apprehensive of present affairs, affected with God's honour, associating with the Saints & adhaering to God in times of discouragement is approved sincere in God's sight: but holy conference is the vent, issue & result of such an heart out of this abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. 2. The service itself doth not more plainly evidence the sincere sanctity of the heart, than the principle from which it springs, and by which it is enforced, and that is the fear of God and thinking upon his name; those spurs and preservatives of piety: They that feared the Lord, spoke often one to another and they were the men that thought on God's holy name. The fear of God is the fountain of wisdom; that fills their lips with words of understanding: serious thoughts of God's holy name blasphemed stirreth up their sensible discourse: all acts of service and observance are not arguments of sincerity: the dog is Restrained and a slave made serviceable by the cudgel, but fear of a father and zeal for his honour, are only notes of ingenuity and candour, because principles of obedience, and spurs of duty: hypocrites may cry to God in distress, but will not pray always, they must fear God who seeing the prosperity of the profane will not restrain prayer before him: men may be full and forward for God's Religion in fair weather; but they must be pricked with his holy fear that can speak of him, and for him in a foul and stormy season: holy conscience is burdensome to the flesh especially when contrary to the course and countenance of the world, and must therefore be forced by the fear of God, and thoughts of his holy name, when discouragements do abound it must be an I dare not offend my father must open the mouth for God, when the times dictate silence to the prudent, they must be pricked with an awe of God, that speak one unto another: they that fear not God will soon tail in their profession, and forsake the faith: it is only the fear of God can answer the allurements and counter poise the affrightments that arise from prospering profaneness, when men are stout against God they must fear him that are stout & seek to strengthen one another for God: to serve God, when men cry it is in vain to serve him, must spring from the thoughts of his name, so do evidence sincere serving God for nought 3. Sincere grace is not more evident in the service done, and principle of holy conference then in its season, it is performed then when profaneness prospers, the proud are called happy, etc. Many receive good seed of God's word, who are offended at tribulation; Mat. 15.21. and fall back from their profession: they must be sound at heart who will speak of and for God when all men speak against him, they m●st be Cordial that seek to confirm themselves and others against the discouragements of prospering profaneness. So that if men will appear sincerely sanctified, they must speak one to another; and be busied in holy conference in the times of sins success by prospering providence But thirdly. Holy conference doth derive Reason. 3 much profit and advantage: discourse is not more profitable to humane then to Christian society, provided it be duly seasoned: that of things natural and civil; this of things spiritual and Religious: as sincerity is the life of Religion so is society the life of sincerity. The Philippians are observed, with much profit, to holdfellowship in the Gospel from the first day of their conversion, Phil. 1.5.6. The lips of the Righteous saith Solomon do feed many, Prov 10.21. Holy conference is not more comfortable to ourselves as the evidence of a sincere heart, & support of a desponding spirit then profitable unto others by the anticipating and expulsion of sin: it is no small fence against corruption or help unto repentance: It is appointed of God as a curb to our own hatred; and cure of our brother's sin, thou shalt in no wise hate thy brother, but shalt Rebuke thy brother and not suffer sin upon him: Levit. 19.17. Wrath retained in silence works Revenge, as in Absalon towards Amnon; but expressed in Rebuke, it easeth the offended heart and helpeth the offender to Repentance: and on this account, It is desired of David as a most sovereign ointment Let the Righteous smite me, saith he and it shall not hurt me, Nay it shall be a kindness; Let him Reprove me it shall be an excellent oil, Psal. 141.5. Christian conference is prescribed of God as an antidote to the venom of custom in sin. Exhort one another daily whilst it is called to day, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin, Heb. 3.13. Fraternal correption is a skilful setting of a lapsed soul in joint, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Gal. 6.1. Restoring the fallen brother with meekness; private conference is the first corrasive of sin, & must precede public censure in the enforcement of a sinner's repentance Complaints against sinners are not allowable whilst private conference meets with acceptance and Mat. 18.15.16.17. success, nor doth this benefit of holy conference appear more by the prescription then by the probation of it; many experiments of its efficacy are left in sacred and Ecclesiastic story. David was restrained from acting his self Revenge conceived against Naboth, 30.31.35. Sam. 25. by the prudent conference had with Abigail: whom and whose advice he blesseth, and the private discourse between him and Nathan did a waken his conscience unto repentance for his murder and adultery in which he lay a long time: 2. Snm. 12. the woman of Samaria was convinced and converted by the holy and familiar conference of our Lord Jesus. John 4. The Iberians were converted by the holy conference of a Captive maid; Edesius & Frumentius both private Christians by their good discourse brought the Indians to the Christians faith: Justin Martyr tells us in his 2d. Apology that he came to the Christian faith: by the constant patience of the Martyrs and the holy conference of a certain grave old man, who met him in the walks of his retirement; and Junius professeth of himself; that he escaped the snares of Atheism in which he was entangled by the plain and fervent discourse of an ordinary Country man in Florence; and Latimer was recovered from Popery by the private confernce of Bilsney. So serviceable is holy conference to conversion of souls; that the very reward thereof is promised to it: if any man Err from the faith, and one convert him, let him know that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way, shall save a soul from death, and shall hid a multitude of sin; is the encouragement of Christian conference urged by the Apostle James, 5.19.20. The wise shall shine as the firmament, and they that turn many to Righteousness as the stars for ever and ever: is the assurance given by the Angel, Dan. 12.2. So that if in times of sore temptation, by the success of sin, we are desirous to prevent impiety and Recover any that are fallen under this prospering profaneness, we must be provoked to be frequent and fervent in holy conference. 2. It is profitable to excite, and animate unto duty: holiness is supernatural to man's heart, and above his reach, he must strain and stretch till tired, that will work out his own salvation: Nay it is contranatarall to corrupt man, the natural man is at an enmity with God; He that walks with God, walks up hill, Roweth against tide; and saileth against wind and cannot but be wearied and find many times their very spirits fail: but especially when under the storms of prospering providences to profaneness and the discouragements of successful sin; the stoutest heart will find work enough to keep his station, and bear up against the weather; it is indeed a lively faith that keeps the soul then fixed, and hopes from fainting, God, as sensible of our flagging spirits, hath left us Cordial counsels and promises, to encourage us and earnest cautions to quicken our faith, Gal. 6.9. 1 Thes. 3.13: Rev. 2.15. as be not weary of well doing ye shall reap if ye faint not Having begun in the spirit, do not end in the flesh; Hold fast that thou hast let no man take thy Crown & the like: Yet so dull are our hearts so drowsy our spirits, that the best of Christ's Disciples may rejoice in the compassion of their master which maketh him conclude when he finds them sleeping: The spirit indeed is willing but the flesh is weak; even the stoutest David is ready to faint with waiting long on the Lord, and to slack in holiness and say as the wicked it is in vain to serve God, when he considereth the proud are called happy, they who tempt God are delivered: but holy conference is an help to our weak and sainting spirits; society is serviceable in heaven's way. They travel cheerfully in the Communion of Saints who would be tired alone. Two are better than one, saith the preacher they help one the other, and they hearten one the other. Eccles. 4.10.11. If at any time we wax dull in duty, and begin to draw heavily in the yoke of Christ; the words of the wise are as Goads & as nails to spur, and quicken us: if we grow faint and feeble that our spirits do begin to be drooping and despondent as ointment, and perfume Rejoice the heart. So doth the sweetness of a man's friend by hearty council Prov. 27.9. Cold hearts in hard times are warmed and heated by holy conference, consider one another to provoke unto love and good works; saith the Apostle Heb. 10.20. The Greek word is consider one another into a Taroxisme; a violent heat as the fit of an Ague or burning of a Fever: to make each other earnest and vigorous in love and good works; for the dullest spirit is sharpened by holy conference as an Edge-tool is sharpened by a whetstone, as Iron sharpeneth Iron, so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend. Prov. 27.17. by colloquy, debates, conference, familiar disputes, speaking one to another, saith Mer●er and Lavater on the text: the heathen do much mention the quickening efficacy of conference, Euripides makes it the mother of all arts, and Cicero, the means of all wisdom and council: the quickener of all diligence, heating benumbed members with rubbing: and what force soever is in conference, is the profit of the Saints, when the conference is Christianized in the matter and manner of it: for thereby we are encouraged in difficulties, enlivened in deadness, enlightened in darkness; as Gregory Nazianzen notes, Christians sharpen each others spirits by their conference, as Boars sharpen their tusks by rubbing them one against another. 3. Holy conference is profitable to establish in the faith and fear of God, professed by us: faith is the first & foundation of grace of the soul, all our sanctity, nay our very salvation is dependant on our faith: holding fast the profession of our faith, is the great duty of a Christian; of all grace's faith is most esteemed by the Lord, it is found unto praise and honour and glory at the day of judgement. 1 Pet. 1.7. And therefore our Saviour prayeth that our faith fail not. Luke. 22, 32. And faith is most envied by the Devil, all his temptations are to overthrow our faith, this is the only errand of all the allurements of prospering profaneness, and the threat● that are sounded out by successful sin, if at any time, we make shipwreck of faith we lose salvation: but holy conference is a means for confirmation, making known common persuasion; and by a friendly debate, removing all scruples and doubts which arise in the soul; the only errand of Paul's expedition to Rome was Conference, and the only end of that conference, the confirmation of the Saints in the faith of Christ: I long to see you to the end I may impart to you some spiritual good that your faith may be established. Rom. 1.11.12. The Lord Jesus, whilst upon earth, and before his death, did not only familiarly confer with, & explain to his Disciples the mysteries of salvation which he preached to others in parables, unto the confirmation of their faith therein, but also after his Resurrection he condescended to associate with the two Disciples as they walked to Emmaus; Luke 24. and familiarly to confer of his own sufferings and confirm them in the faith of his Resurrection: Thus also he in a friendly manner did confer with the two Maries, and with the Eleven Disciples; when they sat at meat and with the other Disciples when fishing. So excellent & advantageous is holy conference for confirmation in the faith; that it is honoured by the exercise of the Author and Finisher of our faith: It is also enjoined unto all the Saints: for the support each of other in days of seduction and apostasy from the faith. Judas 20. Build up one another in your most holy faith: Saints have the inspection of one another and must endeavour the establishments and edification one of another, and there is no way within their capacity whereby they may perform it, but holy conference. We see then that if the godly have any care of divine direction and delight; desire to declare the sincerity of their sanctity & dilight in the expulsion of sin, excitation one of another to duty, and establishment each of other in their most holy faith, they must in times of sins success, speak often one to another, by prospering profaneness, be provoked to godly conference: but I hasten unto the use and application of this doctrine, which will be Reproof for the neglect of this duty, exhortation unto the discharge thereof. The first use I shall make of this doctrine is, by way of Reproof seeing prospering profaneness; should provoke holy conference. They are justly to be blamed who professing to the fear of God, fall short in this duty and speak not one to another of the things of God: conference is indeed common among men but it is seldom good, Rarely holy; most men are unacquainted with the language of Canaan, and unskilled in heavenly discourse: the most of men seem to have set up David's resolution though on different principles, to keep a watch before their lips; and to Refrain from good talk in the sight of the wicked: for saints, when they meet, seem strange and unacquainted each with other; opportunities of holy intercourse are little looked after, and when accidentally offered, we meet each with other, as men of no Relation and little affection, our language carrieth with it no life, counsel or comfort, or bespeaketh us to be men devoted to the world, and drowned in the earth speaking of nothing but worldly affairs: Though times are evil, sin is advanced, and sad affliction on the godly, snares and temptations are on the best of men, and run them one straits not well knowing what to do, every tongue is tipped with blasphemy and discountenanceth piety; saying it is in vain to serve God, yet we who profess special Relation to God and each to other in the Lord, keep at distance each from other; and walk alone in such evil times, and when occasionally we meet make little or no mention of the ways of God, Case and Condition of the Church, or cause of Religion: complaints of evil and confirmations in good are to us strange language and such as either we know not how through our ignorance, or are afraid through our weakness to administer each to other: we shall not deny but there is a time to speak and there is a time to be silent and the multitude of words many times are the notes of folly, therefore, he that hath knowledge will spare his words, and that a fool stopping his lips may be judged prudent. Prov. 17, 27. But must caution in speaking, be the bar of holy conference? must we fly from the fools babbling into profane men's silence of the things of God? can the tongue choose but speak out of the abundance of the heart? will not holy affections boil in our bosoms until they bubble out in heavenly discourses? must not the lips of the wise seed many? and if ever be the time of speaking one to another; must it not be when the wicked do speak against the godly & their holy practices, when God is dishonoured Religion degraded and danger of seduction and apostasy from truth and piety very palpable, because the proud are called happy, etc. But you will say this season of sins success and prospering profaneness; is an evil time in which the Prophet saith, the prudent shall keep silence, Amos. 5.13. But doth this evil of the times engage an absolute silence? though the prudent are prohibited by the Rage and violence of the wicked, who hate him that Rebuketh in the gate and abhor him that speaketh uprightly, verse 10. Yet the Prophets of God must speak ●●y a loud, and not spare to tell Judah of her sins: the fear of the Saw did not silence, Isaiahs' prophecy; nor the terrors of the dungeon tongue-tie Jeremiah; nor yet the scourge, prison and proud commands, no more to speak in the name of Jesus, stop the ministry of the gospel: but you are not in awe of office, and so bound to speak against opposition, private Saints we grant may with much prudence be silent, when like to be made an offendor for a word: but yet not altogether silent neither; though you speak not to the wicked, may you not speak one to another? though not to the conviction of the proud and profane, may you not confer to the confirmation each of of others? when should godly conference more abound then when open checks will not be endured by the wicked? if any thing do drive the people of God to joint complaints and mutual communication of gifts and graces it must be the times that are thus evil: and therefore Christian souls, you who eat the society each of other, and abide silent in sinful times, abstaining from holy conference as strange or dangerous; let me tell you there is sin upon you, and you are greatly to be blamed for the neglect of anindispensible duty and failing in the exercise profitable to yourselves and honourable to your God: and your sin is capable of these sad aggravations. 1 You degenerate from your pious progenitors. I have before mentioned many examples of the pious who were frequent and fervent in holy conference especially in evil times, as amongst others these in our Text, who did speak often one to another: the Corinthians did abound in speech and wisdom one toward another. 1 Cor. 1.5. And the Romans were filled with all knowledge admonishing one another. Rom. 15.14. And the Philipians contained in fellowship from the first day of their conversion. The Virgin Mary could not contain the good news brought her by the Angel, but up she went to th● hill Country, to confer of them with her cousin Elizabeth: hath not Catechising been the object of Popish, and conference of prelatical rage in our Nation, witness the bulla Papalis, condemning Catechising, and the late Prelate's complaint of, and contests against Conventicles: how did not the Protestants in Queen Mary's days confirm one another unto Martyrdom. It is storied of Rawlius White a poor fisher man in Cardiff in Wales that he, not being able to read, did by the reading of his little boy and conference with good men, (in the time of King Edward the sixth) gain such knowledge that he became an instructor of others, going to his neighbours and conferring with them, he did prepare himself and them for the patiented undergoing the bloody persecution in Queen Mary's days. I need not multiply instances of this nature, you that have been observant of the godly (wickedly and falsely called Puritans (well know the common and commendable course of conference by them used such Communion of Saints, eomplaining of sin and Gods sad judgements hath been the event of evil times in England as hath caused this note to be left upon our Nation. Angelica gens est optima stens pessima ridens. England is best all in black, when prospering profaneness provoketh holy conference, then doth piety most flourish: can you call yourselves brethren to the Saints, and so basely degenerate from their practice? 2. You demonstrate yourselves dead members in Christ's body: and that because your silence in such sinful sad times doth bespeak you in sensible and unprofitable: without any feeling of God's dishonour and Religious danger or zeal for the Lords glory and the safety of piety, I have before told you warm affections must word it, and have vent by good expressions. It is impossible for an holy heart to be tonguetied. David's holy heart and heated passions will burst the padlock of resolved silence; and constrain good conference: especially if enforced with the desire of our brethren's profit for such as are slack in holy conference are unprofitable, for the souls of men, are no way fed but by the lips of the wise, or preserved from falling, but by the understanding of the prudent: though every act of worship in the Church is an act of Communion with the Church, yet gifts and graces are only communicated to the members thereof in Colloquy: Saints stand charged each with other, and the joints must supply their places by mutual conferences administering nourishment to the whole body: lively and profitable Christians do in evil times inquire the way to Zion with their faces thitherward, saying one to another come and let us join ourselves unto the Lord in a perpetual Covenant. And in evil times they say every one to his neighbour, and every one to his brother, what hath the Lord answered, and what hath he spoken: they do stand charged with the souls each of other, and are therefore bound to exhort, rebuke, admonish, comfort, & edify one another. And if ever the life of grace must be manifested by acts communication, it must be in evil times the hour of temptation which cometh on them: in a day of general defection and diligent seduction, the Saints must edify one another in their most holy faith, and save one another with fear, pulling them out of the fire: if you are willing to witness yourselves stupid under Gods heavy judgements, senseless of God's glory and the welfare of Religion, and liveless, useless members in the body, you may with due shame stand at distance each from other, and smother thoughts of God in your own breasts, for want of vent by holy conference, but consider profession of the tongue is no less useful to salvation then the persuasion of the heart: and withholding counsel from the weak in evil times is wickedness. 3. You disgrace Religion and are condemned by the wicked of the World, whilst you sinfully suggest that sanctity destroyeth society, and maketh the ungodly conclude Religion a solitary condition in which communion is not to be enjoyed: whereas indeed holiness is a bond of union and ground of Communion, which whilst it separates us from the Tabernacles of the wicked seateth us in the Temple of God; and doth not more divide us from the society of the profane then drive us into the Communion with the Saints the scope of sanctity is to turn the stream and direct men's thoughts and expressions into an holy channel, which not being thus employed makes Religion look like the Ruin of charity, and that which bars all kind of counsel admonition or conference. The men of this world are wiser in their generations then the children of the kingdom; they are Reduced into no straits but they run together and counsel each other to escape and evade them: they agitate no affairs in the world, but by good counsel and ordinary conference, men that seduce from the truth are diligent and dextrous in their discourses:: Chatechizing and conference the two great preservative of truth and Religion have been exercised as eminent means of seduction, whilst neglected by such as should be established by them: is it not ashame that the enemies of God should beat us at our own weapon? Popery Arianisme, Socincanisme, Anabaptism, and other heresies are propagated, by Catechising and conference whilst these edifying exercises are omitted and slighted by the professors of truth: in the affairs of this world we are common in Counsels and mutual Colloquies, but mindless of the great concernments of salvation. Let it therefore be our shame that we are so slack unto acts of Communion; and so careless of this eminent means of confirmation, and the rather for that the success of sin should stir us up; unto the frequent discharge thereof: Lay your hands on your hearts and blush who are professors of the same faith, and worshippers of the same God: pretenders to the same covenant and privileges and yet such strangers unto each other; and so much unacquainted that you speak not unto the comfort & confirmation one of another: Repent your sinful neglect of these sociable soul-edifying acts of conference; or renounce your relation to the Saints, who have gone before you: of whose spirit you do not partake: Nay renounce your relation to God and his people, of, and to whom you speak so little that you seem insensible of their estate; and unprofitable to their souls. The 2. Use that I shall make of this doctrine, is of exhortation to stir up the godly to be frequent in holy conference; to get together and speak often one to another. This is the duty incumbent on you that fear the Lord, and cannot but be discharged by you whose hearts are full of thoughts, of God's holy name if you are indeed in union, maintain the Communion of Saints, and whilst you sit jointly under the same ministrations of grace; fail not in your places and capacities to minister one to another. Consider Christian brethren, Scripture as well as nature doth teach us it is not good to be alone; we are not born for ourselves, we are members one of another; we must seek every man the good of his neighbour, the things of others not our own things: solitude is not more burdensome and dangerous to nature then to grace; nor more unsuitable to man then to a Christian: much hurt have the godly received by solitariness; when David exiled from Israel, did walk alone in the land of the Philistines, he fell into diffidence and despondency and blasphemous conceits; that God had forgotten to be gracious; he had in vain washed his hands and cleansed his heart in innocency: and when Peter wandered alone in the high Priests hall, he was overcome with the temptation to deny his master: Profit of holy conference is ever great but most in evil times, by it we are established in holiness; kept from falling, Restored when fallen; strengthened in the day of temptation? quickened when dead and dull in duty. It is the very veins of the Church by which every joint supplieth its place unto the edification, of the body there is not more profit than privilege in holy conference: It is the Communion of Saints and fellowship of the Gospel, the comunication of the gifts and graces of Gods holy spirits: it gives counsel in doubts and straits, comfort in despondencies and sorrows. It is the vent of grief easeth our hearts of the burden of sad apprehensions by friendly complaints: it is the expression of zeal which would burn; he uphold of the heart, by the Common consent of good men, and mutual counsel each of other; how is it then Christian souls that you are so much unacquainted, and unaccustomed to holy conference? for shame content not ourselves to hear the word preached, but conserre of what you have heard; live not in the Church but in your places communicate each to others as lively members of the Church: are not the times evil in which we live? do not the proud prosper? are not they who work wickedness set up? and see we not men that tempt God delivered? are not truth blasphemed ordinances trampled on, sincere sanctity slighted vilified and contemned? is not perfidy perjury violation o● solemn oaths, and covenants the way to preferment? do not men court us by providences, into ways pinciples and practise● direct contrary to Scripture precepts? and have not they who fear the Lord need to speak often one to another? the Colloquies of the ungodly and conferences of the seducers and seduced from the faith do every where abound, and & shall the men who are sound in the faith, zealous for true religion, cleaving to the covenant of God with constancy; be estranged one to another? if ever you had need to strengthen one another's hands and hearts now is your time; there was not more need of Saints frequent conferences in times of Popish persecution and prelatical restriction, then in these days of sinful liberty by shameful Toleration, of all impostors: the less restraint is laid on you by the Church or state you should be more watchful one of another, and careful to k●ep each other from the use of your profanely allowed libert●, know you that it is a saying beseeming a cursed Cain: am I my brother's keeper? have we not evils to complain of? do not men speak st●ut words against God? is not all positive p●ety, under a pretence of holiness, denied? do not men say it is in vain to serve God? if you have any sense of God's honour, any zeal for true Religion; any feeling of the force o● temptation, any pity to your weak brethren, any faithfulness to your own souls, any fear of God; be quickn●d to holy conference, flock together, se●k opportunities of mutual Colloquy, and having found them, see you speak often one to another. This duty of holy conference especially in evil times, is in itself so evident and so excellent that none do, or indeed can deny it; I shall not therefore stand to enforce it with motives, but refer you to the reasons of the Doctrine before urged, which you will find to be quickening considerations thereunto: I shall only present you with some directions unto the right discharge and management of holy conference, for it, like other good duties, doth m●ny times miscarry by the r●sh and unadvised management thereof, many, I must confess, have been the mismischiefes which have redounded from the private conferences of the Godly; especially in this City: in so much that although the duty hath been allowed and enforced with th● public authority of the ministry of this City; in their jus divinum ministerii. Cap 5. pag 78, ●9, 90. Yet many par icu●ar Pastor's, to some of their peculiar charge, have seen cause, in a way prudential, to discountenance, and almost disallow the conferences of private Christians; especially with their fixed circumstances, that so the inconveniences accidently thence arising might be avoided: I would gladly divide between the duties and their discommodities, I dare not debar Christian-liberty, though I would it m●y be wisely enjoyed nor interdict the positive duty, but will endeavour to instruct you unto the due management and exercise thereof, that the evil and inconveniences thereof may be prevented & herein I sh●l pr●●e●● yo● with some cautions and some directions. 1. Some Cautions of evil to be avoided in holy conferences which must be carefully observed by ●u●h as will speak one unto another to edification not destruction: and they are these. viz. Caution. 1 Separate not from the Church, slight not public assemblies whilst in zeal you frequent private conferences: it is a sin to be noted to our shame, ●hat conferences of private Christians have given occasion to schism and sinful separation from public assemblies, justifying our late prelacy in their violent resistance of the private conventions of Christians, as Conventicles opposite and destructive to Church assemblies: we cannot on serious observation, but see that the sinful Schism of Independency, and shameful separation of the Congregationallists was founded in and nourished by the fixed conferences of private Christians: and how many are there at this day who leave the public assemblies, break from the Communion of the Church, disown public Ordinances and despise them, & only creep into private houses and spend th●ir Sabbath in Colloquys if not quaking soliloquies) & mutual discourses of the things of God, and so not only withdraw from, but set themselves against the Church and the public assemblies of God's people: now although private conference is a duty, yet the improvement of it to the neglect, much more the contempt, of the Church and public assemblies is an horrid impiety. This profane fruit is not the natural result of conference, but is enforced f●om it, by the corruption of profane hearts clothed with the pretence of piety, and drawing wicked conclusions from just premises, the lose heart ●hinks private exercises to be sufficient, and so makes them jostle with public acts of Religion; and the proud heart not enduring the subjection of disciples to be taught with authority in the name of Christ, thinks it is better to abide in private Conference; where he may play the part of a Teacher, and proudly acts his supposed gifts and abilities for instruction; or man's curious brain is so busily captious, that it cannot be confined at any time to positive and convincing assertions of truth, but must be conversant in that exercise in which he may captiously propound his criticisms and groundless scrupulosities or sceptical objections against plainest principles: all which being to much to be allowed in private conferences doth make hearts, not awed with divine prescription of method and order of holiness, and not apprehensive of the consistency of public and private duties, nay the priority and preeminency, the public hath of all private means of edification, to which the private must give place and not affected with the conscience-binding authority of public administrations of instruction, wherein God himself speaketh above the charitative admonitions of brethren, wherein though the thing spoken be good and true yet it is but the advice of men, and wants the authority of God to enforce it: too much to cry it up, and content themselves with it, until the devil, taking at man's disposition, doth tempt and prevail unto a neglect of public ordinances, a separation from the Church, and sinful withdrawing from the solemn assemblies and shameful contempt of the public Ministry profanely pleading for, and blasphemously defending their impiety, urging gods words against God's worship and arguing, we must speak every man to his neighbour and inquire every man of his brother, what hath the Lord answered? we must teach one another, saying, know ye the Lord and shall not need any to teach us. This forsaking the assemblies, and separating ●rom the Church is an evil and inconvenience so dishonourable to Religion, and dangerous to the soul, and yet so incident unto the holy conferences of the people of God, that the holy Ghost hath taken notice of it, and bounded the command of private conference with this very caution concerning public assemblies. Heb. 10.24, 25. Consider one another to provoke unto love and good works: not forsaking the assembling of yourselves together, as the manner of some is but exhorting one another: in which the du●y o● private and personal exhortation is plainly prescribed and duly bounded; and the evil incident thereunto carefully cautioned, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. which is not to forsake the public assemblies, clearly expressed in the Greek word, which signifieth not only a coming together in the synagogue or plane of Assembly: 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and that in a concourse or multitude and great number: and also in the discretive particle but differencing the exhortation one of another, from the duties to be attended in the assembling of ourselves together: and enforcing the caution by a sad instance and observation of an evil custom, to be avoided as the manner of some is; so that schism from the Church appeareth to ●●ve been an old attendant on the con●erences of the godly. Calvin on this T●xt tells us, we may here, see, that of old, Schism from the Church doth ari●e from the contempt thereof in men proud of their seeming sanctity in mutual exhortation: and Pareus doth w●ll note that whilst we admonish and exhort one another ●he Apostle doth commend to us Reverentiam Erga ministerium Eccles●ae & studium frequent●ndi Ecclesias●●c●s Caetus. Reverence and Regard to the public ministry and Assemblies. And as the holy Ghost doth give us the command of conference, with the caution of its inconvenience, to be prevented by this Apos●l, so we shall find the same duty enjoined by another Apostle; with the suggestion of the self same danger, Judas 20. verse. But ye beloved Edify one another in your most holy faith, the discretive particle leads us back to something before spoken & that is, the properties of wicked sects, seducing and seduced souls; who did separate from the Church, and are therefore branded with it. These are they who separate, sensual, not having the spirit, verse 19 And are set as evil examples to be avoided, but ye, beloved, that ye may not separate Edify one another. Holy conference should fit us for, and fix us in, the Communion of the Church: and be our fence against Schism and sinful separation: So that (Christians) be conversant in your private conferences, but careful that you grow not by them into contempt of God's public Assemblies. Use your domestic society's but despise not the Church of God, take heed that you never give a parity much less a priority to your Charitative instructions, with ministerial authoritative injunctions, to your friendly conventicles, as brethren, with the congregation of Saints in the Church of God; keep not so close in private, as to neglect the public administrations of God, give both their due; pay, your tithe of Mint & Cummin; but Omit not the weightier matters of the Law, know that your exhorting, admonishing, speaking one to another is a duty: but preaching hearing and the Ordinances of God in the Assemblies of his people; are greater duties: for these are public that, private, these to the Church, and whole body, that to friends, brethren single and particular members; these by office, and with the authority of Jesus Christ, that is performed in Charity at the good will of men; These are fixed and positive acts of worship; for time, place, method, order that; occasional, when, where and how we can get opportunity: these essential to the being of Religion and salvation of the soul That convenient, comfortable, quickening, advantageous and to the well being of the soul: so that there can be no parity between them much less may we overthrow the public and standing worship of God, by our friendly and fraternal intercourse; those that make holy conference an occasion of contempt of public Assemblies, may edify fancy but not faith; may grow in knowledge but not in grace: may make Religion shine with a little splendour but not stand in a storm, for they do fasten it with a sinful peg; or however Schism is, by the Saints of our age, minced and made of no moment, it will prove destructive to the Church and damnable to the soul: for being divided from the body they have forsaken the head and fall into an imp●ssibili●y of nourishment: how horrid are the prophanesses both doctrinal & practical acted by the pretended Saints of our age who have sprung up from their private Conventicles into an open separation from the Church, and have improved their desired Toleration to the confusion of the Church, increase of all heresy error, and oppression of truth and order: Take heed that ye exhort one another, but forsake not the Assembling of yourselves together as the manner of some is. Caution. 2 But a second caution in the exercise of holy conference is this: Set not upon soul Edifying acts which are out of your sphere, the Edification of the Church, is ●he great end of all Gospell-administrations and friendly admonitions of the brethren, and to be pursued with the utmost diligence, God ha●h giv●n Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers, unto the Edifying of the Saints. He hath appointed every joint to be duly serviceable by Admonition, Rebuke and consolation each of other as brothers. He hath prescribed many different waves and means unto the accompl shment of this great end; and Nehemiah-like studious to have the work of the Temple to go forward, hath distributed men into their several stations, and to distinct employments in which each one must attend: and nothing doth more hinder the work o● God, or bring dishonour to Religion then disorder, and stepping out of our own places to employ our hands in what is not to us allotted: Publ●ck ministry and private conference are both appointed and conducible to the Edification of the Church; but in their proper places, and order. The ministers of God may not hinder the people of God from their holy conferences; Prelatical violence against piou Communion of brethren in praying each with and ●or other, and speaking one to another w●s no mean pul-back to Re igion: nor must private conference Encroach upon public ministry, or intermeddle with its administrations, Vzzahs upholding of the Ark, when Shaken doth but hinder its march towards its Resting place; if men sinfully break order and st●p out of their places; the work of God must be hindered, whilst his angry hand doth Reduce them into order again; the straining of the privilege of private Christians unto their presumptuous meddling with the work of Gospel-min●stry, hath made the sun of the Gospel stand still, nay go backward among us and so weakened piety; that the very sinews thereof are shrunk and irreligion increaseth unto blasphemy, and almost Atheism: Let it be your care (Christians) in your private Conference to keep within compass, and manage those things which only belong to private Christians? meddle not with matters that appertain to the ministry, though they be edifying to the Church yet they must be extended by men of office: consecrated to and invested with authority for such service: I would not abridge private Christians of the least of their privilege, nor have them in their conference. Go one step beyond their bounds; give me leave therefore to appoint the borders of your holy conference; and that you may never hereafter plead ignorance; I will tell you what private Christians in their conferences may do: and what u●der the pretence of conference, private Christians may not meddle withal, as they tender the edification of the Church, advancement of Religion, and salvation of their own souls. First then there are seven positive and special acts of conference; and Communion of Saints which particular Christians and private brethren not only lawfully may, but in duty must discharge each with and towards other: and they are briefly these 1. Private Christians may and must pray one for another, in the behalf of themselves and the whole Church of God: prayer is indeed an act of public worship to be done in, and by the Church; whose mouth must be the Ministers of God, Joel. 2.17. But it is also a private and personal duty, to be done by every child of God, in secret and in society. It is Required that every Christian do it: and that believers do pray one for another; James. 5 16. And it is the promise of the covenant of grace that families and tribes shall every of them pray apart and in the times of the Church's perplexity; even private, Saints though there were no Ministers among them, should go together and pray in Communion, and by joint supplication; thus did the men that feared God in our Text and the many who were gathered into the house of Mary the mother of John, and were praying in the day of Herod's Rage acts. ●2. 12. Some have been angry at, but never durst argue against the practice of Christians in private fasts and prayers; no, it is their duty and privilege. 2. Private Christians may, and must confess their sins one unto another: none but Papists will confine confession to a Priest or public officer: sin must indeed be sometimes confessed in and to the Church, when she is become the object of offence and scandalised by the miscarriage and so the finner become the subject of her censure: but private brethren may not only confess their sins one unto another, as they are the parties offended, but as they are brethren and subjects of pity and of compassion? who seeing his brother sin a sin, not unto death, will pray for him, and it shall be forgiven him; private brethren must not only pray against the guilt, but power also of each others lust; and must not only pray against sin but be serviceable by other means to the subduing the strength thereof, and saving the soul from the error of his way; and therefore it is commanded that common Saints do confess their sin one unto another: I presume I need not advise prudence in the choice of those brethren to whom we will commit such secrets. 3 Private Christians may and must in their private conferences, Check and Rebuke one another's impieties and miscarriages; fraternal correption is a duty beyond all exception commanded of God Thou shalt in any wise Rebuke thy brother, and not suffer sin up on him, Leu. 19.17. Appointed by Christ if thy brother offend tell him of his faults between thee and him; as an hindrance to sin and help in temptation: exhort (by way of Rebuke) one another lest ye be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin: It is the provocation of Repentance; balm of a wounded conscience; desired by David Let the Righteous smite me: it is the Restitution of a Relapsed soul, Gal. 6.1. The private man's passage to glory, and provision for honour; covering a multitude of sins and converting the soul: James 5.19.20. The end of mutual confession is mutual Reprehension: these are the wounds of a friend more faithful than the kisses of an enemy. Prov. 27.6. Where let it be Remembered that Reproof is the wound of a friend done in Charity not out of office, with pity and successful by its truth and justice not with power; prevailing by its Authority. 4. Private Christians may and must counsel and quicken each others graces. And so spur each others duties, say come let us return unto the Lord let us join ourselves to God in an everlasting covenant; they must consider, observe, have an eye unto each others ways and walkings, to warm the cold affections, and provoke unto love and good works none but the slothful in duty and slaves to profaneness; can be angry at, or argue against, the private Rebukes and exhortations of holy conference. 5. Private Christians may, and must comfort one another in their anguish and affliction: sanctity supplanteth no act of society; but sets us in a better capacity, to perform to Reason much more religion leads friends to visit Job in his affliction, for to him that is afflicted: pity must be showed by his friend. The not speaking consolation was the mistake of Jobs friends in all that long conference they had with him: when our friends inter their dead we are directed to comfort each other, 1 Thes. 5.11. by conferring of the Resurrection of the body: the speaking of promises and providences of God, so as to prop up a sinking soul & to strengthen the feeble hands is the work not only of public communion but also of private conference: the consolations of God must not be concealed but imparted as occasion requireth unto the good of others. 6. Private Christians may and must complain of the evil of the times, to affect each others hearts with sense of, and sorrow for sin or Gods sad providences; men's stout words against God, must be matter of expostulation to them that fear God: Jonathan & David must into the field to confer of saul's wickedness and cruelty? Israel's abomination must be made mention of among the mourners for it; the dreadful dispensations of God, at the death of Christ must be the matter of discourse to the Disciples as they wa●k to Emmaus: every soul must see God's hand observe God's providences, and make the prosperity of profaneness and escapes impiety, the matter of discourse unto his own and other men's discretion to a due demeanour and suitable conversation. 7. Private Christians may & must confer with each other of the things of faith and salvation; none but Papists who lock up the knowledge of the truth from poor souls and the people of God; and impose on their faith what the Church doth believe will make it heresy to inquire into and debate of the Articles of the Creed: Obadiah may without any sin or disobedience expostulate the injunctions of the Prophets; and it shall be a note of Nobility to the Bereans to inquire into the Scriptures to find the verity of the Apostles doctrine. This is no other than the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and Christian conference allowed and enforced by the ministers in jus divinum ministerii cap. 5. Pa. 81. of this City: Nay and was honoured by our Saviour in joining in society and debating with the Disciples that went to Emmaus; the death and resurrection of himself; those great Articles of Christian faith: Rom. 1.11. and Paul's Errand to Rome was to confer of the doctrine of faith; and see his Romans therein established and Schism, tending to an Apostasy from the faith, must stir up the Saints that keep the Union of the Church, to hold the Communion of it by Edifying one another in their most holy faith: so that it is not to be thought that men must live by an implicit faith, to Receive what ever is magisterially imposed; or be censured for maintaining a modest and humble debate and expostulation or conference; about the fundamental points and doctrines of faith and of salvation. These things Christians you must know do belong to ministers as members of the Church, and partakers of the same precious faith with yourselves not as they are Ministers and Officers of, and in the Church employed about peculiar service which other may not undertake to manage: and although some of these are actions to be performed ministerially such as is Rebuking, exhorting, and the like; yet they have adjuncts peculiar, and an especial form, no, they become ministerial and must not be meddled withal by private men: but in the matter and substance of them they lie common to believers & members of God's Church. Christian brethren; so far would I be from condemning that I would encourage and in the name of the Lord command you to maintain your society and make conscience of holy conference, and therein of praying together, confessing your sins one to another, admonishing, exhorting one another: and doing all the acts of Communion, wherein were the people of God more conversant, piety would be preserved and increased. I have showed you how far you may go in holy conference, and hitherto not I, but the Word of God will allow & justify you but be so prudent, as to keep within your borders, and take heed you do not break your bounds. I shall therefore in the next place propose those edifying acts, which private Christians in their conferences are to apt to be meddling withal, whilst indeed they are holy, more holy than the ordinary and common acts of sanctity, and must not be meddled withal by every common hand, although a believer, nay a believer eminent for parts and piety; and they are likewise seven which I do in the name of Christ adjure you to consider and avoid as out of your sphere, and they are these, (viz.) Private Christians may not constitute Churches: constitution of Churches is an eminent act of authority and cannot be affected by any private hand: I well know it hath of late been the principle and practice of many pretenders unto piety in their conferences (which were at first private) to constitute Churches; the independent notions are that seven or eight fewer or more believers conjoining themselves into a Church, are thereby constituted, and therefore in the gathering of their Churches, their Ministers have shamefully renounced the ministry, and sinfully disowning the authority of Jesus Christ, which th●y enjoyed, resolve themselves into a private capacity, as members, and so by the Church gathered, received the Ministry: and indeed out of this corruption of holy conference have risen most of our gathered Churches among us: which way of Church constitution is irrational and Irreligious. Irrational, because no political body can constitute itself, doth not civil policy call it a combination and conspiracy, where men embodie themselves without public authority who will suffer them to enjoy the privilege or be subject to their Rules and orders as a corporation who Receive not their Charter from, nor are constituted by public Authority. Is not the Church a body politic? and every particular congregation parts of the Church Catholic? and how then shall they constitute themselves? Is there any thing true and good in nature and contradicted in Scripture; is God a God of order in the world and of confusion in his Church? is the Authority of the magistrate essential to the constitution of any corporation, and company in any Town or City, and shall men of Religion embody and give a Church form unto themselves? shal● simple consent be the Ratio formalis of a civil conspiracy, and Religious constitution not only is it irrational but irreligious, without the least colour of Authority or countenance of Scripture I shall not be afraid to challenge all the congregationallists to produce any commission from Jesus Christ, by either precepts or precedent of self constitution of the Church. I find indeed a Commission to go, and Disciple the Nations and by baptism to constitute them Churches of Jesus Christ; but none dare presume to say, this was given to private persons nor is it to constitute themselves unto a Church if there be other commission in the book of God let it be produced: as there is no precept so we find no pattern of a self constituted Church; we Read of the Church at Rome, Corinth, Galatia, Ephesus; but which of them were of their own constitution? had not every of them the Lord Jesus for their foundation; and some of the Apostles for their founder in the name and Authority of Jesus Christ? did not Christ institute the office of the minister, before he did constitute the Church in the world: and sent forth ministers to Gather in the elect, and to constitute and confirm Churhes so that the ministry is before the Church and for the Church, essential unto its constituton: To Act without a commission and warrant from Christ, is no less than superstition and presumption: but to invert Christ his order and to neglect his method and Authority is high profaneness: to constitute a Church without commission, is to build in the sand without any confidence of Protection or preservation, to make the ministry to arise out of the Church is to make it the ministry of the Church not of Jesus Christ indeed I read of two self constituted Churches in the Scripture; but they were both disowned by God and good men, the one was the Church gathered by Corah & his company, with a cry of sanctity all the Lords people were holy: they indeed fling off the ministry of God's appointment, but I need not tell you how good men flew from their tents, and how God flung this Church alive into the earth; take heed you perish not in the gain saying of Corah, the other was the ten Tribes who casting off the house of David, did also cast off the ministry of God and constituted themselves a Church, and so consecrated to themselves Priest's o● the lowest of the people: but the Priests of God and those who did fear the Lord throughout Israel packed from among them, and they went to Jerusalem and continued in the Church constituted by God and not only did good men, but God himself cast off this self-constituted Church; have a care you walk not in the way of Jeroboam: Let not your private society and conferences become the College of the Prophets, or Rather conspiracies of Schism: however men seemingly holy and succeeding in their guilded impiety do by doctrine & practice, direct you to self constitution in Church way, decline it, depend upon God's public ministry in disposing of you: until you can make corporations without Civil; think not to make Churches without Religious and divine sanction 2. Private Christians may not under the colour of holy conference consecrate things or Persons unto God: self constitution must needs produce sinful consecrations, for no body politic can be preserved or Resolved into order; and any capacity of acting without Officers, and therefore the Congregationallists in plain the Independents, who make self aggregation, the form of Church constitution, give not only power to men unordained, not consecrated, to come nigh unto God, in the most holy and public of administrations; but make that self-collected body the subject of the keys, and Receptacle of all Church power from, and by whom, the administrators of God's ordinances must be appointed, and ordained: and thus their leaders having resolved themselves members of such a society; Receive from that society a ministry: but (beloved) do you consider consecration of any thing, or person unto God, is an act of office and Authority: none may come nigh to God, in the administration of holy things, but such who are thereunto consecrated: this God hath made manifest; by the Perez-Vzzah, made in Israel for Vzzahs' putting forth a common hand, to stay Gods holy Ark, when tottering, and Ready to fall: the desire to support Religion in danger to fall, will not defend this impiety: and by the leprosy of King Vzziah for presuming to meddle with the Priest's function and by the censers of Corah, and his company, beaten into plates and made Monuments of memorial that no unconsecrated persons, meddle with the holy things of God, nor can it in Reason be thought, that the ministry should lie common, to be taken up by any hand, and at pleasure: for that it is an office and function, place and particular order in the Church of God: charged with special service: appointed to a proper end: prepared unto by special qualities and endowed wi●h special privileges? men will not let civil offices lie common; who contend to lay open holy functions; and so dissolve all order in the Church: as none but holy persons may come nigh to God; so nothing unhallowed must be presented unto God as a part of his worship; if the sons of Aaron pressed into God's presence with any profane and unhallowed thing they should perish: none but holy fire must burn on God's altar: common Elements as water in baptism and bread and wine in the Lord's supper must be consecrated before they become acts of worship, and seals of God's covenant: It is blasphemy and profaneness to make every table the Lords table; and common use of creatures bread or wine the commemoration of Christ his death and sufferings; the most sinful Schismatics, will confess consecration of things and persons necessary; and you must know that this is not the work of every, no, not of any private hand: men cannot communicate what they have not received; nor stamp peculiarity on others who never had it stamped on themselves. It is Gods standing Law, that the Priests sons of Aaron, consecrated themselves, do consecrate things, and persons that shall come nigh to God: and therefore, it is Israel's Horrid impiety, in their defection from the house of David, and altar of God, that whosoevor would might bring a bullock and consecrate himself a Priest unto the Lord? nor is the liberty greater under the Gospel; for it is the method, and order of Christ; that the office of the Gospel's ministry be transmitted unto faithful men, by the solemn ordination of men themselves ordained to that sacred function: we deny not the privilege of election to be the peoples; but the power of ordination abides in officers: It is plain that in the Church constituted by Gospel's ministry at Jerusalem; charge of election is given by, and power of consecration Reserved to, the officers of Jesus Christ: Choose you out men whom we may appoint, and those who act any thing in Christ, or his Minister's name without their Authority may expect to be corrected by the Devil himself as were those Exorcists in Acts 19.13, 14, 15 v. Paul we know and Jesus we know but whence are ye: whilst therefore you confer as brethren take heed you consecrate not as officers: Remember, you may be holy in your kind to your God; but not have a power to make other men or things holy to the Lord: make not yourselves a Church, make not your own ministers or Sacraments. 3. Private men may not communicate ordinances to the Church, in the name and stead of Jesus Christ, when you are in your conferences, used to speak take heed you presume not to preach: whilst you play the men, in ministering counsel; nay good men, in ministering holy instruction, and Religious admonition, do not so manage it, as to presume in yourselves, or proclaim to others, you are more than private brethren, even public officers the Ambassadors of Jesus Christ: to this end you must take heed that your administrations be not to the Church of Christ: nor in the name or stead of Christ; these two are boundaries of ministerial instructions; which may not be broken in upon, by private men, without palpable presumption, and profaneness: we shall willingly allow Christians their liberty; as Parents and masters of families to speak instruction to their children and families; private and particular brethren to exhort, admonish and Rebuke in their friendly societies; Generals to make their orations (and that like Christians) to their Armies; and Tutors to Read divinity Lectures to their Pupils in the Universities; but (let their abilities be never so great we must bar them out o the Church here they must be hearers not speakers: the Church is only the object of ministerial instruction; when men presume to speak in, and to the Church of Christ, they press upon the function of Gospel's ministry; and make themselves Prophets unto the Lord, for all Agents in the Church appear as officers; and are on that account to be Received, Reverenced, heard and obeyed: so that their feet that thus bring glad tidings must be beautiful unto the hearers unto prophesying which hath believers for its object: mission is essential: sending of the preacher, is one ground of faith in the hearer: how therefore can he preach except he be sent and as we bar private men from speaking to the Church as their object so also from speaking in the name and stead of Jesus Christ the instructions, admonitions, Rebukes, and exhortations of private men, must be in amity not authority; as friends distinguished & dignified by their Relations not deputed by Jesus Christ, or invested with his authority: only Ministers are the Lords Emabassadors, beseeching us in Christ stead, as if he himself did beseech us to be reconciled: to them it is indeed given in charge, and to them only to teach and command, and in teaching 1 Tim. 1●. 11 to exhort and rebuke with all authority. Titus 2.15. as being over the Church of God. Whilst the ministers of the gospel do require credence and obedience; to what they declare, not only because true, and good, but because spoken with authority; in the name & by the Embassy of Jesus Christ; private Christians must know that the only weight and strength of their instructions lie in the turth and goodness with some civil and natural circumstances thereof: and the refusal of them, may charge the guilt of despising good counsel, and disregarding friends, but not disobedience unto God and Jesus Christ: to your shame it may be spoken; that many youngsters adjoin themselves to your private societies, as expectants of the public ministry; and having enured their tongue in your conference to talk of the things of God; do with much confidence, impose on you their discourses, in the name and authority of Jesus Christ, and at length uncalled and unqualified, presume to step into the pulpit; and speak unto the Church of God: as if your conferences were no other than nurseries of pride and vanity: I would such as thus presume to prophesy would but seriously ponder that which was certainly spoken in reference to gospel times, by the Prophet Zach. 13.5. And the Prophet shall be ashamed, every one of his vision; and shall no more wear a rough garment to deceive; but he shall say, I am no Prophet, I am an husband man; men taught me to keep cattle from my youth: Their faith can be but poorly edified, which is fed with a fantastic and imaginary ministry: and followed with the curse of God, because they have run and I have not sent them, they shall not profit this people. Jer. 23.32. Whilst you give good counsel, do not cheat men of their salvation, by giving it with the assurance and authority you never received. 4. Private Christians cannot, under pretence of conferense, cast out of the Church: excommunication is the highest act of authority in the Church of Christ: and however it hath been highly asserted and hotly contended for, it yet remains to be proved that the people or body of the Church are the subject of the keys, the Savoy conclusions are neither Scripture nor Church Canons; nor are they enforced with the least Scripture argument; or answer to what on the contrary hath been objected: be not magisterially imposed upon, by men of no power: lock not your selus under an implicit faith, of what some pretenders to piety, profess to believe: consult Reason and Religion; and you shall find popular power unto Church censure repugnant unto both: casting out of the Church is an act judicial; and that cannot be done by all; they must be Rulers and judges that do execute it: if this be the whole Church where are the ruled; and to be judged, when the incestuous person was cast out of the Church at Corinth, it was done in the name of Jesus Christ by many, and as the word signifieth principal ones; nay by those who judged such as were within, not by all the assemblies, or any private persons: I deny you not the liberty of debarring from your friendly societies: I believe a strange and discountenancing carriage towards every brother which walks disorderly to be a duty: but for private men to deliver any over to Satan, is a grand impiety. 5. Private men may not in private conferences cancel the condemnation of the Church or conscience: the same authority which doth bind must lose: they who shut must open: absolution is an act undoubtedly ministerial and Ecclesiastic: the Officers of the Church can only acquit convicted guilt, private Christians must confess their sins each to other, to provoke pity and prayer; but not to procure a pardon; further than the offence concerns themselves: they may comfortably argue and expostulate each with other the hopes of pardon, unto the quieting of the anxious conscience; but he must be a minister who doth in the name of the Lord pronounce pardon and in the name of the Lord ministerially though not Judicially cancel conscience, and quiet the guilty by assuring Remission of sin; upon true Repentance: It was unto Ministers that Jesus said whose sins you Remit shall be Remitted; and it is by them therefore this ground of faith and foundation of hope: be must said as private men have not authority to capitulate so they have none to conclude peace between God and the soul: the many that punished, did pardon the incestuous Person, and that in the name of Christ: and therefore with authority to apply God's poomises and require an acquiescency of soul is positive profaneness. 6. Private Christians may not conclude orders and decrees, which shall bind the Church. All acts of discipline are attendant on the keys of the Church; such as wear them have the only power of prescription of things, Religious Rites, and matters of decency and order in the Church of God: Legislation is the height of authority, they that consult and conclude; for to bind the Church; and require subjection; must be well commissionated: Church counsels I doubt not may send a broad their 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 determined decrees: Acts 16. ●. and conscientious obedience must be yielded to them; but for private Christians to prescribe unto the Church of God; cannot but be high presumption and profaneness: However you conclude, prudential Rules, to preserve the peace and order of your private amicable societies; let them never be imposed on others, or prescribed to the Church: but know subjection is your station in God's Church, and Legislation above your Reach. 7. Private Christians may not commend a blessing to the Church, in the name and authority of Jesus Christ: we deny not the power of parents blessing their children by prayer and parental option as did the Patriarches, and Laban to jacobs' children, or friends blessing one another by salutation and serious supplication as Jacob at his coming in, & going out blessed Pharaoh; to be common to all the people of God, and to be done by private men: but ministerial blessing by pronunciation thereof in the name of the Lord: unto the Church is an act of worship to God, and argument of faith to his people and therefore must be done by authority, and belongs only to his Ambassadors and commission Officers: the Tribe of Levi is separated in Israel to stand before the Lord and Minister unto him and to bless his name, Deut. 10.8. They must, and they only must bless in the name of the Lord, for they are chosen to this very purpose, Deut. 21.5. That your private conferences begin and end with prayer is commendable, but that your society break up with a formal and pronounced blessing in the name of the Lord is to be condemned: very prudent was the practice of the Church when men unordained and only expectants of the ministry did, for probation sake, preach, were barred from pronouncing the blessing and thereby made known to the people not yet to have been consecrated to this holy function. Thus then (Christians) I have plainly prescribed, and let you see what is your privilege; and what will prove your damage, wherein you as private members and particular joints may duly make a supply unto the edification of the whole body of Christ: and wherein you may be dangerously prejudicial to the Church and destructive to your own souls: all holy duties are to be managed with fear, but especially those which are occasional, and at humane liberty; wherein without vigilancy, and great care we shall be transported, by Satan's temptation, and our own corruption: whilst we are tickled with a desire to distribute what we have Received: and quickened by the sense of duty to communicate, gifts and graces by exhortation rebuke, ●nd admonitions: we are too Ready Rashly to manage it; not Regarding the place wherein we stand, and the method, and order, whereby we must be serviceable to the edification of the Church: but break all bounds and presume to turn preachers; and assume to ourselves all ministerial power and authority, pressing on all the acts thereof, constituting Churches, consecrating things and persons, communicating to the Church in the name and stead of Christ casting out of the Church, cancelling conscience, concluding orders for the Church, & commending God's blessing to the Church, I would our sinful age were not a sad comment on the exorbitancies of Religious conference. You take it ill if your privilege be not asserted in its latitude; but think much to be confined to your places; as you would not have your Ministers discountenance your conferences, drive them not into a sinful extent; avoid the evil that your nature gathereth from them: for Gods own occasional institutions are to be Removed for the prevention of a greater evil: as was the brazen Serpent to prevent Idolatry: Christian liberty must be restrained when it giveth occasion to Schifme, Rebellion, and Impiety: know therefore; that the Church will never be edified, by your doing acts of edification out of your sphere, and without authority: keep at an equal distance, from acts of profaneness; and acts of piety not belonging to your places: It is all one in divine acceptance, to omit, and overact a duty: not to serve him, and not to serve him in our stations: for (however men deem) he is a God, and God of order; and order the beauty of his holiness must shine more brightly in the Church; then in the world. Now that I have bounded your liberty in holy conference by fit cautions, I shall direct your duty unto the right discharge of it that it may be honourable to religion; profitable to the Church, and comfortable to your own souls: The directions I shall suggest are three. Propound unto yourselves Right Direct. 1 matter whereof to confer each with other: all things Revealed and known may be matters of discourse unto men; but all discourse befits not Christian men; I need not tell you that Rude & Ribald language, foolish jestings, vile calumniations, and contrivancies of profaneness and wickedness; are Repugnant to, and unfit for humane discourse: It is a shame the Tongue man's glory should ever be stained with such language: how much more is the contrariety thereof to holiness and Christianity? this may be the language of the prospering profane men which must provoke our speaking one to another, by way of complaint that men should be so wicked: but must not be once named among you, as becometh Saints. The affairs of the world and concernments of our temporal and present estate, are matter of Colloquy fit for humane society; and may in all commerce be lawfully conferred of by Christian souls; sanctity doth not make us cease to be men, if we will not confer of the things of the world, we must go out of the world: but but yet these things fall into Christians discourse, as men, not as Saints, and common prudence will guide in the exercise thereof. The conference which we have under consideration is Godly & special; belonging to Saints, & stirred up by the stout words of the wicked, and success of sin, springing from the fear of God, and thoughts of his name, therefore the matter propounded to it, must be holy and Religious, like the language of the virtuous woman, your mouths must be opened with wisdom, and the law of kindness be upon your tongue. Prov. 31.26. So the matter must be generally good, even the word of God which must dwell plentifully in us in all wisdom, unto teaching and admonishing one another. Col. 3 16. Our discourse must be such matter as is savoury, seasoned with salt, administering grace and edification to the hearers. Col. 4.6. No corrupt communication, must come out of your mouths but that which is good. Eph. 4.29. Good men must like householders bring out in holy conference, things new & old but always such as may witness them to be Scribes instructed to the Kingdom of Heaven. Mat. 13.5. So that in general, the ●ind of God, word of truth, doctrine of the gospel, must be propounded as the matter of your conference but more specially, propound not to your ordinary conference. 1. Jewish fables and genealogies or vain jangling notions, frivolous matters which minister questions rather than godly, edifying in the faith. 1 Tim 1.5. fables because frivolous not because false, as Calvin ●otes on the text, many genealogies, and other criticisms, are recorded in the Scripture, as necessary appendants on the things written; which in themselves are not proper matter for conference; because unprofitable, and the debate of them will be but a laborious loss of time, a task not worthy the toil, like an Olive or Date stone, hard to crack or cleave, and affording no kernel when divided: holy conference must be employed so, that it should not fail of its end, or hinder union; and therefore we must see we never make that the matter of it which may genderst rise, occasion snarling, administer questions, but afford no instruction or edification; Suetonius tells us that the curious canvasing of the genealogy of Priamus, to find out the Pedigree of Aiax and Achilles, was ridiculous to all sober men, if frivolous things must not be the matter of humane much less may they be the matter of Christian debates. 2. Confer not of curious and nice critical cases of concyence. R●m. 14.1. We are required to receive such as are weak in the faith, but not to doubtful disputations: that is critical debates, concerning Christian liberty, which indeed stir up scrupulosity; but do not edify: the weak will by scrupulosity of conscience be discouraged in the ways of piety; let them not therefore be in your conferences, perplexed with such inquiries; doubts are soon started, and easily raised, but not so soon resolved; it is sad, when soul tormenting scrupulosity becomes the effect of Christian society. 3. Confer not controverted matters of discipline and order in the Chrrch, the things of salvation may be enjoyed in the Church where discipline is much wanting, and neglected matters of order tend to the beauty but not the being of the Church; articles of faith and acts of holiness may be followed by men that are ignorant of the debates of Church order: disputes of circumstances becomes many times the destruction of the power of godliness: it is noted of eminent Mr. Dod that he never loved to meddle with the controversies of the times, because they dulled his affections to holiness if in any thing, ●ōmon Christian should be concluded by Church officers, it is in matters of discipline & order. 4. Confer not the experiences of Saints, & manner of God's work on the heart and conscience because these are merely personal, & may prove prejudicial unto others: conviction and consolation is the common condition of all believers but the modus and gradus operandi measure and manner of it, is different; ordinarily disposed by the temper and disposition of the subject: and cannot be a Rule unto others the easiness of David's must not be the measure of Manasseh his conviction: nor must the thundering conviction and conversion of Saul be the square thereof unto Peter: experiences of this nature administer no edification, but many times engender in some despondencies, and in other presumptions: leave we therefore a wise God to work his own work, in his own way; let us make the work itself object of our observation and discourse, not much making known the manner and measure thereof. These things I advice be not propounded as the matter of your conference because repugnant to its end but instead hereof confer. 1. Profane practices of the wicked: with which your hearts are to be affected, and that out of zeal to God's holy name hereby dishonoured; and piety to immortal souls hereby endangered; and compassion to them who by their prosperity in the course of impiety do become a stumbling block, temptation and evil example to others; multiplying to themselves the wrath of God, unto which they are by their present success prepared: This is more than probable to have been the matter of which the men in our Text did speak one to another, we may not always speak to the conviction of the wicked yet we may and must speak to the confirmation of ourselves against the temptation of their prospering profaneness and successful sin. 2. Principles of which are ploin and obvious to every serious Christian studious of Scriptuee and are essential to the v●ry being of a believer and indispensably necessary to salaation: These are the foundations of the oracles of God, by which we are constituted Christians and capable of being edified: ignorance and inconstancy in the principles of faith fits us for all heresy and seduction from the truth: the matter of Christ his conference with his Disciples in the coasts of Philippi as is evident by his, Whom say men that I am? and whom say ye that I am. Mat. 16.13.16. Was the verity of the Messiah who was to be believed: and the matter of his conference with the Disciples that walked to Emmaus, was his death and Resurrection those great Articles of faith: and Paul's Errand to Rome was by conference to establish the Saints in the faith, Rom. 1.11. The common work of the Communion of Saints is to edify one another in their most holy faith: and therefore the principles thereof is the proper matter of their conference. 3. Practices of piety which are to be performed unto these, being to the gracious soul supernatural and and above his reach, beyond his natural strength; nay contra natural unto which their flesh bears an enmity, they cannot but be weak and dull, apt to be wearied; especially when under affliction and all worldly discouragements: men speaking, & common course of providence seeming to confirm their language, that it is in vain to serve God: therefore we must consider one another to provoke unto love and good work, so long as the willing spirit is Retarded with the weakness of the flesh the words of the wise must be as nails and as goads. 4. Promises of Grace which must be the props of the soul, the uphold of hope under the prospering providences that do attend the profane; and afflictions which are incident to the Righteous: whilst the vision is delayed the just must live by faith, and by discoursing of God's promises and properties, establish their expectation of a discrimnating deliverance out of all their sorrows, though at the present the proud are called happy, etc. If these, and things of the like nature, be made the matter of your conference, it will produce its end; and prove an ordinance of edification; informing your judgements; affecting your hearts, quickening and establishing the soul in faith and holiness. I have done with the first, and shall now pass to the 2. direction unto the right management of conference. Direct. 2 Right matter propounded, proceed unto your conference with due prudence, wisdom is the ornament and excellency of every action; and must be the especial property of believers, that will put forth in exercises of Religion, they must proceed with much prudence, and beware of betraying the same into scandal; by any acts of in discretion: many are the snares which attend holy conference; and great are the evils which our corrupt natures do draw from so good an exercise, we must therefore be very watchful to improve it to its end and avoid its evil, though accidental: the truly prudent will limit themselves in things lawful lest they Run into things unlawful: It is Augustine's assertion that he who knoweth not how to deny what is in his liberty, will never be able to decline what is forbidden: and the truly Godly must avoid the appearance of evil not only the species but shows; the kinds but shadows of sin are to be shunned: let therefore your conference be managed with all wisdom, in point of time, place, manner, and order. 1. The time of conference is occasional as opportunity is offered; for holy conference is not a duty fixed to any special season; but as divine providence and humane condition doth cast and call us into society, we are to speak one unto another: as in the time of friendly visit in any affliction; familiar intercourse in holy actions, or falling into each others company by appointed or unexpected affairs; so that the Godly must watch for, and catch at the opportunity of exhorting, and admonishing, comforting one another, by holy conference: yet we do not deny or deem it unlawful for the Godly of any vicinity and neighbour hood; by mutual consent to keep fixed seasons, wherein to associate and speak one unto another in holy conference: only we advise that the time fixed be our own, not Gods or our families, our own, I say, not Gods, that is, not the Lord's day: and the season of solemn assemblies and public worship: holy conference (I confess) doth well become the Sabbath; but the Sabbath cannot well be the fixed season of conference: epecially the time of public exercise; when God is by his Ambassadors speaking to the whole Assembly, it becomes not private Members to be speaking one to another: the Lords day is designed of God himself unto duties of Religion public, domestic, and personal; and acts of society must be occasional: It is great folly nay gross profaneness to spend the time of Church edification and instruction, in private colloquy. I would we had not known some good men guilty of it; do not many among us get into a private house, and employ themselves in holy conference, unto the neglect, nay at length the contempt of public ordinances? or must we fix for holy conference, the time which is our families that is to say the feason of our particular calling, in which we ought to labour unto the subsistence of ourselves and family: when poor men leave their trades and spend much time in the society of the Saints and holy conference, but leave their families in want, their affections to holiness may be commended; but their indiscretion is to be blamed: no exercise of holiness which is private and occasional must hinder our particular callings: when God teacheth we need not teach one another: and when hardship hinders special acts of holy society, it is not required at our hands. 8. Nor must you manage your conference with more caution in reference to time then to the Place: all places are in point of holiness alike; but not so in point of prudence: ●he people of God may occasionally confer in any place, and so in the Church, as well as an house: but when by mutual consent you make conference a fixed duty you must in prudence avoid the Church, for private duties do not become public places, the Church is a place purposely prepared, and preserved for public Assembly, and administrations of the Church; and therefore bears its name Church as the notation of its nature: and by long and uninterrupted custom and practice of all Christian ages and nations, all holy exercises in these public places, have the Church for their object, and presuppose ministerial authority for their form: avoid therefore these places as you would avoid all enchroachments on the holy function of the ministry and the appearances thereof. 3. Nor must we have more care in reference to the time and place, than the manner of holy conference: let us us not instead of conference, make set, and formal discourses after the manner of ministerial instruction: I have come into some private societies, who have assembled to confer, and heard one man preach to the rest, rather than confer with them, and I have indeed sadly observed that society to be a nursery of presumption to the ministry: I do not say that private Christians are prohibited from inferring doctrines from Scriptures and enforcing them with reasons and application; I doubt not but masters may thus do in, and to their families; and tutors in the university to their pupils; each according to their capacity: but for private Christians in any fixed friendly society thus to do; is (in my eye) without the least of warrant: for they want not only the ministerial, but parental and magisterial authority; which should award such a kind of instruction; I do believe the prophetical privilege of a believer is prescribed and limited to those whom nature hath put in subjection to him; and will not, nay, must not be extended to his Peers & brethren: moreover they, in so doing, destroy the duty to which they pretend, for their work should be to confer by colloquy, to communicate each to other: their business is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 mutual debate, expostulation, colloquy, each speaking to other, answering one another, when speak in order proposing their doubts, urging their objections, imparting their thoughts; and so communicating one unto another; which is clearly destroyed, where one only is the speaker, & all the rest are hearers: should a stranger come into such an assembly, and observe that one instruct the others and that withal magisterial, nay ministerial circumstances, could he call this a conference, or would he not rather conclude it a preaching to the Church. 4. Prudence must direct us unto order in our conference as well as care in respect of time, place and manner: confusion is incident to, and must be carefully set against by all society: when the godly meet to confer, they must be orderly in the matter of their conference, laying the foundation before they rear the superstructure; acquainting themselves with Rudiments and principles; before they inquire into higher matters of faith: there are many things in Religion which men whilst weak in, or ignorant of principles are not able to bear: first confer of matters essential to saith, and then go forward: debate the duties, before the dignities of a believer; the high flown Saints of our age can confer of nothing but their privileges and high enjoyments of God, Christ and the spirit: and so nourish pride and fancy; but not faith: and as you must be orderly in the matter, debating what may profit, more than what may pleas: so also you must be in the manner, speaking one unto another and one after another, suiting an answer proper for the thing propounded, not speaking all at once unto confusion and distraction: & whatever comes first into your mouth without any care of its pertinency to the thing discoursed. Having then associated each with other, and made your holy conference (a duty in itself occasional and transient) to be fixed, manage it withal wisdom in respect of time, place, manner, and order for by the miscarriage of these you do expose your selus and exercise unto scandal, and just censures; giving way to the Devil in a little, you lay yourselves open to temptation: conference in the time, place and manner of gospel ministry is but a praeludium to the profane, contempt, and presumptuous undertaking that holy function,; give me leave to enforce this direction with a sad example of the sinful issue of the imprudent management of holy conference: which hath fallen within my own time and knowledge, which proved the prologue of apostasy from the Church and Covenant of God unto the men that used it: In Audly parish in the County of Stafford, lived many eminent professors of Religion with whom I have had sweet Communion, and taken sweet counsel many times; many of them were men of eminent parts unto prayer and conference, in which they were very conversant: in process of time, they fell under a very weak & dull ministry; which gave them occasion to be more frequent in their conference each with other; and especially on the Lord's day; pretending by themselves to make up the defects of the ministry which was over them; until at length they fixed their conference on one day in the week, and sometimes on the Lord's day to be held in the public place or Church and did call unto it by the tolling of the bell; & one of them more apt than the rest, spoke unto the rest, of which miscarriage in a private duty I had (by some more humble than the rest) notice given me & came to the men and blamed their indiscretion, who in the sinfulness of pride, scorned my instruction and would not be admonished; another grave and reverend divine, (whom they had much esteemed) dealt with them on the same account but all in vain; for in this course they continued until they broke out into the contempt of the ministry; the separating from the Church; and casting off the Covenant of their baptism; and constituted themselves a Church; unto which, the men of best parts but most proud, are at this day become leaders, and professed Ministers; be wise in time for it is sad to see how by pretence of piety God's ordinances are slighted and souls seemingly Godly are seduced from the truth. Thus much for the 2. direction. The 3. and last direction is this, possess a suitable frame of spirit unto the due management of holy conference: It is the duty of every Saint, but such as are most conversant therein, and will study to make it edifying, and enforce it to its end, must be fitted thereunto, by these especial qualifications which must be possessed. viz. the 1. Sense of Union and Relation, Union is the Reason of Communion, and Relation engageth communication: know we that we are brethren? this makes us familiar, and members of the same body, it will provoke inspection and mutual supply and corroboration. They must know one another that do know how to speak one unto another. Strangers are ordinarily silent. 2. Spirit of wisdom and understanding. The lips of the wise must feed many; the word of God must dwell plentifully in them, who will admonish one another: men of holy conference must be Scribes furnished for the kingdom of heaven, bringing forth of their treasure things new & old: be studious of God's mind Revealed in his word, if you study to be profitable members in Christ his body. 3. Zealous affections to God and holiness: apt to be grieved when men transgress God's law; and ready to plead for God and piety, when most men say, it is in vain to serve God, out of the abundance of the heart the mouth must speak, they must fear God and think upon his name, who will speak often one to another in evil times. 4. Serious observations of, and sympathy with our brethren; though charity gins at home yet we must love our neighbour as ourselves: whilst our chief care must be of ourselves; we must not shut our eyes to our brethren's souls or frailties: we must see the brother Erring from the truth, if we will convert him: know his sin if we will Rebuke him: apprehend his temper if we will make admonition affect him; all natures are not a like nor to be alike dealt withal: see his sorrows if we will support him by our counsel; they must consider one another, who will provoke unto love and good works: they must well study the sins and sorrows; conditions and constitutions; actions and abilities of their brethren; who will speak a word in season to a wearied soul. 5. Sincere desire to edify and be edified; to propagate grace and godliness not to proclaim parts and proudly act abilities: if conference be Paul's Errand to Rome, his only end is to impart some special gift that the Saints may be established; and he be comforted by the mutual faith of one another: the weakest member of the body is profitable in its place: every joint makes its proper supply unto the increase of the whole body. 5. Special meekness and humility: submissly harkening to the counsel of others and setting on them a due essteem; not puffed up with confidence of our own knowledge: and with all tenderness of compassion Reproving admonishing and comforting one another: if any that is weak in the faith be over taken with a fault they that are strong must Restore him with a Spirit of meekness; knowing that they also themselves may be tempted: and if we will fulfil the Apostles joys in Christian conference nothing must be done, through strife or vain glory but in lowliness of mind; each esteeming other better than themselves, looking not every man at his own things but every man at the things of others: Phil. 2, 3, 4, 5. Spiritual pride is the bane and baseness of holy conference. Let (Christians) these directions be Remembered and carefully practised by you, and then what ever providence attends you or estate doth befall the wicked, you may, and must be frequent and fervent in holy conference & provoked to speak often one to another: until the Lord hearken & hear and cause a book of Remembrance to be written be: fore him, for them that fear the Lord, etc. And so much for the 2. part of the Text (viz) the exercise of the Godly in the time of the prosperous estate of the wicked. Auscultatio Divina: OR, God's Attention to good conference in bad times: the third Part of the discourse on Mal. 3.15, 16, 17. Briefly touched on, in the Sermon preached at West-Chester, July 17. 1659., But fully opened in some Sermons since preached at Botolphs-Algate, LONDON. Mal. 3.16, 17, 18. The Lord harkened and heard, and a book of Remembrance was written before him, for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name. They shall be mine (saith the Lord of hosts) in the day that I make up my jewels: and I will spare them as a man spareth his own Son that serveth him. Then shall ye return, and discern between the Righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God, and him that serveth him not. I Have heretofore considered the estate of the wicked, even the worst of men; and laid before you their prosperity: and also the exercise of the the Godly, They spoke often one to another; we now come to the third general part of the Text, and that is the issue and event of both; & that is laid down in these words, and falls into two parts. 1. The delight that God takes in, and due respect he expresseth towards the Godly, and their exercise. The Lord harkened and heard, etc. 2. The discrimination between the righteous and the wicked. Then shall you return, and discern between etc. Of these in their order, and first of God's delight in, and respect to the Godly: and therein if I should delight in mincing the words into parts, I might observe 1. The respect shown, and that in all the expressions thereof, The Lord harkened and heard: and a book of Remembrance was written, They shall be mine; I will spare them. 2. The Author of this respect who it is that thus delighteth in the godly, it is the Lord, the Lord of hosts. 3. The object of this acceptance They that feared the Lord & thought upon his name, 4. The ground or Reason of this respect, they spoke often one to another in evil times. And every of these particulars would afford us very profitable observations: but I intent not so long to insist on the words, and therefore shall not so particularly discuss them: but shall gather the whole Respect herein expressed and so the mind of God towards the Righteous in bad times into this general point of doctrine. [viz.] The Godly, and their holy exercise, Doct. in times of prospering profanensse: doth meet with special acceptance from the Lord of hosts. This is a doctrine worthy our serious and second thoughts, as eminently useful to the establishment, and encouragement of the godly under the increase and success of profaneness: they had done their best endeavour amidst an ungodly nation, and rude people; they clavae to God themselves; continue in the fear of the Lord, and thoughts of his name, and give proof thereof, in speaking one to another, bestir themselves to the conviction, and confutation of the wicked; comfort and confirmation of themselves: and this they do under the greatest of discouragements imaginable; for notwithstanding all their adhaerencie to, & activity for God; th●ir condition was cloudy, and dark, the providences of God were cross: calamity compasseth them about; only The proud are called happy, and they that work wickedness are set up, etc. In so much that the profane insult over the Godly; and blasphemously say, It is in vain to serve God, and there is no profit in keeping his Ordinances, or in walking mournfully before him all the day: & how must we think God carrieth it all this while. Do any serve God for nought? as the wicked men will have it thought, hath he no regard to the Righteous? yea surely: however the current of providence seems to suggest, and and profane men speak: the Lord doth hearken and hear etc. & showeth especial respect to the Godly, & accepteth, with much delight, their holy exercises maintained in times of prospering profaneness: although a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely it shall go well with them th●t fear G●d, which fear before him. Eccl. 8.12. For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect before him. 2 Chron. 16.9. The Lord delighteth not in the strength of the horse, he takes no pleasure in the legs of a man; The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in them that hope in his mercy. Psal. 147.10, 11. The grief of the godly meets with gracious acceptance; God's complacency is in their contests for his truth and glory in a cloudy day, more than in all the glittering glory of the world: the mourners in Jerusalem, in the day of her abominations are the marked of the Lord. Ezek. 9 and in his own time God will restore comfort to Zion, and to her mourners: did ever the house of Jacob seek God in vain, or serve him for nought, or stand up for his name, cause or people, and not meet with eminent expressions of acceptance? Shall Abraham arise to the rescue of an holy Lot, from the hands of the profane, and not meet with his God to assure him that he is his shield and exceeding great reward? Gen. 15.1. Gen. 19.16. Or shall Lot's Righteous soul be grieved with the filthiness of Sodom, and not find the favour of God to pull him out of the destruction thereof? Knoweth not the Lord how to deliver the Righteous? Joh 42.10.7, 8. Shall Job serve God for nought, when stripped of all by the Devil? and shall not God return the captivity of Job, and double his estate? Shall he maintain his integrity against the proud censures of his prospering friends and not become their advocate to pray the pardon of their sin? Shall David's courage destroy the Goliath that defied the God of Israel, and must not the Daughters of Israel sing, 1 Sam 18.7. David hath slain his ten thousands? & Saul his thousands? Shalhe wait on God in patience, & not lay his hand on the Lords anointed, (though himself anointed to the Kingdom) to make way for the possession of God's appointment and shall not his Throne be established? Shall Daniel in the midst of Babylon make supplication for oppressed Israel, Dan. 9.20. and not be comforted by the Angel Gabriel, and assured that he is greatly beloved and his supplication is heard? Shall any give a cup of cold water to a Prophet, Mat. 10.40.41, 42.19.28, 29. M●r. 10.29. in the name of a Prophet, and not receive a Prophet's reward? Shall any lose his houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or Wife, or Children, or lands, for Christ his name's sake, and not receive here an hundred fold & hereafter eternal life? in a word, when the dispensations of providence are darkest towards the Church, the diligent discharge of holiness is most delightful to the Lord: when his Spouse is in holes and clefts of the Rock, than he takes pleasure to see her countenance, and to hear her voice. Cant. 2.14. When all Israel are turned aside by Ahab then: God's regard is to the Remnant that bow not the knee to Baal: when all the inhabitants of the earth receive the mark of the beast and follow the Whore, R●v. 13.10 than the Lord triumpheth in, and insultingly observeth the faith and patience of the Saints, when the prosperity of profane men, swells them to blaspheme and say that it is in vain to serve God, if then they that fear God do speak often one to another, than the Lord shall hearken and hear, etc. He accepts their service done in so sinful a time, nay he expresseth special acceptance as we shall evidence by the several degrees and acts of it, as they are declared in the Text. The speciality of divine acceptance of the Godly, and their holy exercise in times of prospering profaneness doth appear and consist in three steps or gradations. viz. The 1. Regard God hath to them and their service. 2. Remembrance of them and their service. 3. Recompense for them and their service. The first degree and expression of God's special acceptance is, The Regard God hath unto the holy exercise of the godly in evil times: 1 degree of divine acceptance. and that is ardent and affectionate, he harkened and heard: he heard not only, but harkened, importing diligence and delight in his attentition, as one that was affected with the discourse of the Godly in those dark times; hearing is an act of observation, but seems to be formal, superficial, and careless, yet when it is referred unto God, it notes his serious observation and delight, unto the answer of the prayers of the poor and needy. Psal. 34.17.69.33. But harkening is an act of attention; & that with all earnestness & activity, that we may apprehend what is spoken and not miss of it, or mistake it, but be resolved into it as, the direction of our ways and therefore it is emphatically expressed by the Prophet Isai. 32.3 The eyes of them that see shall not not be aim: gestus diligenter auseul tantis. The ears of them that hear shall hearken. Man's most serious attention is always expressed by a harkening unto the Word of the Lord; and Gods most special acceptance of his people's desires is said to be hearking to their prayers; Thus God harkened to Leah and to Rachel. Gen. 30, 17.22. and he harkened to Moses, when he moved for Israel. Deut. 9.19, 10.10. Hearking is an act of regard and respect not only to Attention but Auscultation, they that harken do obey, yield, assent, & admit of the thing harkened as true & good: so that when the godly spoke one unto another, though, to men, it seemed to be in vain, and they would not regard it; yet the Lord heard, and he had respect unto it, nay, he harkened, listened, laid his ear unto their discourse, with all diligence and delight, assenting unto the truth and goodness of what they had spoken; and admitting it to seize and settle upon his heart, as that which must command the great Jehovah which he could not gainsay, out would constrain him at the length to break his attention, by an open asserting the verity of their discourse and the integrity of them that in so evil a time, and under such a general apostasy did fear him; and think upon his name: and zealously speak one to another. But 2 degree of divine acceptance. Secondly God's acceptance of the Godly, and their holy exercise is not only to listen and regard but also to record and remember: he doth hear and hearken with all pleasure and delight, in so much that he hath a book of Remembrance written before him for them that fear him and think upon his name. This Judge of the whole earth doth not only listen carefully to the language of his Advocates, but lest any of their pleas should pass without pondering and due answer, his Notaries are at work, and enter in a book their discourse all their acts and arguments of holiness; lest they should be forgotten: note-books are notations of affection, and care of recordation: what we writ we deem worth remembering: Records are kept of matters of moment to be regarded, and acts of loyalty and fidelity to be rewarded. Catalogues and Calendars of eminent persons and service are prepared for Kings, as the evidence of their respects, and direction of the dignities they shall confer: Chronicle● are written for the consideraon of most Royal Emperors as evidences of their esteem of things transacted; and dictates of recompense for noble achievements: Tamerlane the great, was so well pleased with the diligence & faithfulness of his servants that he kept a Catalogue of their names and services which he daily read, and the Chronicles of Persia were kept and consulted by the King Ahashuerosh that if his list or leisure could not confer a present recompense upon faithful Mordecai, for his good service, a after opportunity may do it: Now God is not forgetful as man, nor needs he any record: it must needs be in a distemper that David shall demand, hath the Lord forgotten to be gracious? Psal. 77.9. Isaih 49.14. or Zion determine the Lord hath forsaken me, and my God hath fogotten me; For the Butler may forget Joseph, and Joseph may forget his former toil and Father's house: nay a woman may forget her sucking child; but God cannot forget h●● people: and therefore when God makes mention of a book of Remembrance, it is but after the manner of men, to manifest and make known his high esteem of his people and their holy exercises, whose names he is said (after the manner of noble Princes) to enter in a book of of life, and their diligence in duty for him and his name, to register in a book of Remembrance: that although their devotion be disowned and despised by men, and devoted to oblivion, and their present estate suggest it disregarded by the Lord; yet they may know it is observed, and esteemed as an high act of holiness: it shall be registered in his Chronicles, books of acts and Monuments that they may not lose, but hereafter reap their due Reward. And therefore. The third and last degree of God's special acceptance of the Godly and their holy exercise is, 3 degree of divine acceptance. Recompense and reward thereof. God regards unto Remembrance, and remembreth unto recompense; he doth not only hear and hearken, but cause a book of Remembrance to be written before him, nor is his Record useless and a bare rehearsal of the holiness of his people in evil times. But the Dictator of the reward to be conferred on them for diligent adhaerence unto him under prospering profaneness; they must not lose that leave all for God in a day of temptation; He will soon resolve that enquiry, Master what shall we have, who have left all and followed thee? With an assurance, none that have left any thing for him shall be losers, but shall reap their comfort an hundred fold, and have eternal life in to the bargain. Mark 10.29. None that are steadfast, unmoveable. abounding in the woak of the Lord, shall labour invain, the God that accepts will in his time approve the acceptance of their service. He that hears and hearkens, will remember, and he that remembreth will recompense, so as that after all the contempts of men, by reason of the cloudy providences that attend them, a man shall say, verily there is a reward to the Righteous, verily there is a God that judgeth the earth. Psal. 58.11. And the acceptance of God will appear to be the more special, if we consider the quality of this reward, they shall receive that speak one to another in evil times, which consisteth in these two things, viz. Their 1. Propriety and Peculiarity of relation to God, They shall be mine when I make up my Jewels. 2. The Paternal carriage of God towards them. I will spare them as a man spareth his own Son which serveth him. 1 Part of Righteous men's Recompense The first ●art of this reward is, the propriety and peculiarity of their relation unto God, they shall be mine in the day that I make up my jewels: their propriety is unto God, they are his, the Lords people are his portion, and Israel is the lot of his inheritance. Deut. 32.9. This is the high honour of Israel, to vouch God for their God, and to have God to vouch them for his people. Deut, 26.17, 18. The great Charter of all our privileges even the very Covenant of grace concludes us but in a propriety to God I will be your God, and you shall be my people, nor indeed need we any more, for happy is that people, whose God is the Lord. Psal. 144.15. In the utmost of distress, nay w●en drawing nigh unto death, the holy heart desire no more than to beable to determine this God is our God, our God, and he will b● our guide even unto death, Psal. 44.14. For what is there in Heaven but God, and what can we desire in all the earth besides the Lord. Psal. 73.15. To stand entitled to God is to enjoy Abraham's portion, a God all-sufficient, there can be no want where God is possessed, where God gives himself he becomes a shield, and an exceeding great reward. Relation to God is the Reason of all good; divine counsels cannot be concealed from Gods abraham's, or Christ his friends: Egypt must not think to Captivate Israel, Gen 18. 1●. John. 13 14, 15 Isai. 43.44. Zach. 2.8. but to their own ruin, because the Lords own people: Wrath though provoked must be restrained, when it goeth out against God's heritage: the fire must not burn, nor water drown God's Israel; the utmost of preservation, even as of the apple of the eye is the portion of such as belong to God: no argument can be more affectually urged in prayer then that, though Abrahad be ignorant of us, yet thou art our God. Isai. 93.16. No greater assurance of support in affliction can be given, then to cry unto the Lord in the midst of the furnace, my God, and for God to answer, my people. Zach. 13.13. nor yet of salvation, out of all sorrows, then for God to say unto Zio●, thou art my people. Isa. 51.16. Relation to God is the Reason of Christ his redemption, and intercession; he seeks men's souls because they are his Fathees, and he prays for their preservation, on this ground, they are thine, thou hast chosen them out of the world. Joh. 17.9. Christ his argument of support, under his absence is the propriety of his people unto God. I go to your God and your Father. Joh. 20.17. The utmost of Saints endeavours, is to see a propriety, in God the sormallity of saving faith is to say sincerely, my Lord, and my God; the satisfaction of a gracious heart in the saddest of affliction is to see that it is the Lords. The utmost design of the Devil's envy at the Saints, is, to make them deny their relation to God and God's affection to them, knowing that the estranged to God are exposed to all woe and wickedness; so that a propriety to God is a prime reward. Well may the pious speak often one to another under the prosperity of the profane, if they stand in propriety to God, they need not matter how the World goeth. They may well be disowned by men yet devoted to, and diligent in acts of holiness, if owned by the Lord, and he say of them they are mine. But yet again These men are not only in propriety to God, but in peculiarity also: they are not only the Lords, in common course and providence, as the earth is the Lords and the fullness thereof, but in special relation and peculiar esteem, they shall be mine when I make up my jewels: they are not ordinary householdstuff, but Jewels, gold and silver, like the Treasure of Solomon, peculiar Treasure of Kings, Eccles. 2.8. they are picked and chosen out of all the earth, like pearls of prize: to be of prime esteem with God, like Israel, a peculiar Treasure unto the Lord, above all nations of the earth: In brief, however they lie scattered at present among the objects of common providence, yet they must be manifested to be a chosen generation, a Royal Priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people, that they should show forth the praises of him that called them out of darkness into his marvellous light. 1 Pet. 2.9. God hath not only the propriety of a Creator in them, but the peculiarity of a Redeemer; they are the Redeemed of the Lord, bought not with corruptible things, a silver & gold, but incorruptibl, the precious blood of Jesus Christ, as of a Lamb without spot and blemish, who gave himself for them, that he might redeem them from all iniquity, and purify them unto himself a peculiar people zealous of good works. 1 Pet. 1.19. Tit. 2.14. And to them therefore are given the great and precious promises of God, and these are they who partake of precious faith, possess special and peculiar graces, and are fitted for special and peculiar duties and destinated to special and peculiar dignities, they are jewels in efficacy and operation, and so must appear in esteem and acceptation. They are the bright Diamond, that sparkles in the darkest times and places of profaneness, therefore fit to be fixed in God's Crown; they are the flourishing Amaranthus, that continueth green and fresh in the most parching places of prospering pride, the splendid Amiants which retain their oriency & brightness under the most polluting prophanesses, which pass upon them and are kept by the power of God, through faith, to the exercise & approvement of it as more precious than gold tried in the fire, 1 Pet. 1.7. unto prais honour and glory, for them therefore is reserved the Amarantine Amiantine Crown, the inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, that fadeth not away: so that however at present they are mingled with the men of the world, and the providences of God pass upon them in common, with others & there is no discrimination, save only in their duty: they cannot be known to stand related to God, save only by their standing to and for God his name, truth and people, against the opposition which profaneness makes, and prosperity heightneth: yet God hath his day of segregation, a day of gathering up his Jewels, and seeking after his scattered pearls, and then he will make the very World to see and know they that spoke often one to another were his, when their souls were sadn●d for the sins of the times and places where they lived: they were his peculiar ones, even his Jewels. God hath a day of collection, and it is a segregation, he gathers his people into the receptacles appointed, and when pearls are brought into the Cabinet they appear to be pecious and peculiar Treasures. Sometimes before a day of Common calamity, God gathers his Righteous ones from among the wicked into the receptacle of the grave, so as that the Righteous are taken from the evil to come. Isai. 57.1. Thus Augustine died before the sacking of Hippo by the Vandals. Paraeus before the taking of Heidelburg by the Spaniards; and Luther before the wars in Germany, therefore thereby God manifested his esteem of them in providing for them who were vexed by the sins, to rest in peace under the sorrows of the places of their abode. Sometimes God gathers his Jewels into an estate of conservation in the midst of the many troubles, and common calamities that destroy the wicked and thus he marketh out his mourners over sin to see, but not sink under the sorrows of the wicked; which seem to strike equally at the just as at the unjust; he supports and saves his people in an evil day Noah's Ark derided by the World, defends him from the deluge, and Lot is conducted to, and conserved Zoar a City of Sodom: Daniel and his three Companions are safe in Babylon, when Israel perish in Egypt. Baruch, Jeremiah, Ebedmelech and Gedaliah are preserved in the sacking of Jerusalem. And thus God's acceptance is expressed to his people in his peculiar preservation in the midst of evil, he as it were calling on them, Come my people enter into thy Chambers, shut thy door, hid thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. Isai. 26.21. So that they are brought as Jewels into a Cabinet; nay sometimes God makes his rescue of his people from the rage of the enemies, to evidence the peculiarity of his right, and relation to them, as men pick up pearls from before Swine, that trample them in the mire: So God redeems his people from the pride of men. Thus God observing the miseries of Israel doth aggravate them, and excite himself to put a period to them by the peculiarity of the people's relation to himself; I have forsaken mine house I have left mine heritage; I have given the dearly beloved of my soul into the hands of her enemies, many pastors have destroyed my Vineyard, they have trodden my portion under foot, they have made my pleasant portion a desolate wilderness; Jer. 1● 6, 7, 8, 9 etc. therefore I will pluck out the house of Judah from among them, then will I return and have compassion on them: the day of salvation, is the day in which God showeth the esteem he hath of his people, and this day God hath in this World many times, but when the day of judgement cometh, in which the Lord shall send out his Angels to gather out the good from the bad and the righteous from the wicked, and shall say, Come ye blessed of my father inherit the kingdom prepared for you. What ever providence have passed on them in the World, they shall then be made manifest to, be in propriety, and peculiarity of relation to the Lord, he than witnesseth these are mine in this day that I make up my Jewels, and that is the first part of their reward. The second part of the reward of holy men, The second part of the Righteous men's Recompense. that do exercise piety in times of prospering profaneness is the Paternal carriage of God towards them. I will spare them as a man spareth his own Son which serveth him: They behave themselves like Children, and he will behave himself like a Father; They are sons of zeal and affection, he will appear a Father of pity and compassion; They complain of the dishonour done to God, and God will complain of the disasters that befall them: Whilst they are grieved for sin, he is grieved for their sorrow: they are indeed willing and studious to keep consciences void of offence towards God and man, yet in many things they miscarry and commit sin, and provoke God to scourge them with the rod of men, but in their perplexity he is full of pity and when provoked highly to chastise them, he will spare them as a man spareth his own son who serveth him: Such is the pity of a parent that it is ready to run into a sinful indulgence of the son's perverseness if not barred with a sacred prohibition, Let not thy soul spare for his crying, Psal. 103.13. and look what pity parents bear to their children, such pity beareth God to them that fear him: he passeth by transgression and sin: he blotteth out their iniquity, nay many times beholdeth not iniquity in Jacob, nor transgression in Israel: he winks at small faults, he seethe many a wanton trick which he observeth not: he covereth their wants and weaknesses, for were he severe to mark all that is amiss, who should stand before h●m: He entereth not into judgement with his servants knowing that in his sight no flesh living can be justified. He may check miscarriages, but corrects Rebellions. As long as the counsels of the Word will restrain, he useth not the rod; they run into disobedience before reduced by chastisement. And when his soul is provoked to correct, and he may not spare the rod lest he spill the child. Oh! with what yerning bowels doth he give up his people to be afflicted? in pity he parleth and persuadeth, Be thou instructed Oh Jerusalem, lest my soul departed from thee; With what paternal conflicts doth he chastise? How shall I give thee up Ephraim? How shall I make thee as Zeboim? How shall I set thee as Admah? my repentings are kindled within me, Hos. 11.8. The least remorse in Ephraim will engage great repentings, in God I have heard Ephraim bemoaning himself; thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised; after that I was turned I repent, etc. And presently God's hand is stayed, his heart is moved, and his compassion cryeth out, Is not Ephraim my dear son? Is he not a pleasant child? for since I spoke against him, I do earnestly remember him still, therefore my bowels are troubled for him: I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the Lord, Jer. 31.18, 19.20. God's hand is long ere it be lifted up against his sons; and often lifted up, and yet doth not light upon his children; and when he is necessitated to strike, yet he doth not strike them as he striketh others; He stayeth his rough wind in the d●y of the Eastwind, for this is all the end the taking away of their sin, Isa. 27.9. When the cup of his wrath doth go round through all the Nations. Israel doth not but sip at the brim, not drink near the bottom, much less drink off the dregs, no, that is for his enemies. When his wrath is most outrageous, his mercy layeth a restraint on it, and in compassion, he saith, surely they are my people, Children that will not lie, and so he becomes their Saviour, Isai. 63.8, 9 in all their affliction, he is afflicted with them, and the Angel of his presence saveth them: So that this is the reward of the pious, that even when perplexed by the prospering profane who are God's hand, sword, and Rod for their correction, yet they are Sons, and spared as sons that serve him, his whole displeasure doth not arise; he punisheth them much less than their iniquities deserve; he dealeth with them as Children, and will e'er long bring them from under his Rod, and make them that smote them to see and know that he spared them as a man spareth his own Son who serveth him. And thus then we see that how sad or cloudy soever the providences of God may be to the Godly, when wicked men prosper, & in their pr●dederide pi●ty, & determine it is in vain to serve God, and to walk mournfully before him. Yet the truly pious and their holy exercise meets with especial acceptance, for it is Regarded, heard and harkened to, Remembered and written in God's Register, nay, Recompensed with a free and full reward of propriety and peculiarity of relation to God, and paternal carriage from God. They shall be mine in the day that I make up my Jewels, and I will spare them as a man spareth his own Son who serveth him. Let us therefore pass unto the reasons of this especial acceptance thus extended. The Reasons and grounds why the Godly and their holy exercise in times of prospering profaneness do meet with such special acceptance from the Lord of hosts, are reducible to three heads. 1. They are a special people. 2. They perform special service. 3. God is under special engagement thereunto. Of these in their orders, and first of the first. Reason. (viz.) The Godly and their holy exercises in times of prospering profaneness find special acceptance with the Lord of hosts because it is the service of special people: the quality of the persons puts a lustre on the performance, the Lord minds not somuch how well as by whom holy actions are performed? The method of God is to consecrate the person that must approach unto him: he Redeems unto himself a peculiar people, that may, and must be zealous of good works, Titus 2.14. and makes unto himself a peculiar people, and Royal Priest hood, that they may offer up acceptable service, a chosen Generation, that they may show forth the praises of him that hath called them out of darkness into his marvellous light, 1 Pet. 2.7.9. Titus 2.14. For God hath respect to Abel, and to his Sacrifice. Gen. 4.5. And Daniel is dearly beloved; and therefore his desires are accepted. Dan. 9.23. God accepts the person, and then the performance, the naked person without any qualification is accepted by the lord Jacob, having done no good, is loved, because the Lord will exclude humane boasting, Rom. 11.9. Josh. 24.2. and magnify his grace: Abraham was of the family of Terah, and served other gods, when singled out to be the friend of God: and Israel was no more holy than other nations, Ezek. 16. her Father was an Amorite, and her Mother an Hittite, when lying in her blood God passed by and pitied her: and chose her to be a peculiar people, to come nigh unto himself: and David was the the most despicable of the family of Jesse, but the chosen of the Lord, before saved, and succeeded by the Lord: the person of the wicked being disowned their best performances are rejected. I know you not, is a bar to divine acceptance of any action: whilst weak and imperfect performances pass current for an acepted people; for as the providence of God is peculiar to man, above all other Creatures, because of the specialty of their creation; so among men it is most specially conversant about the Godly, for they are most special persons, and that in these two respects. 1. Speciality of relation to God. 1. the special Relation to God 2. Specialty of qualification for God. 1. By the specialty of relation to God, They are his people, and peculiar Treasure, and the lot of his inheritance. Above all people on the earth, they are not only Creatures, and the noblest of Creatures, but amongst the most noble of Creatures, they are the choicest, not only are they the household stuff, but Jewels of God, Vessels of honour fitted for the Master's use, & this specially of their relation unto God is in respect of their Election. Redemption. Vocation. 2. speciality of the Godly. They are specially related to God, and that by Election they are the chosen of the Lord, and so the subjects of special favour. Psal. 106.3, 4, 5. We read of the good of Gods chosen, the favour of the Elect, which gives it an Emphasis: Election is a note of high honour, & assurance of choicest blessings in the most sad and perplexed condtion; I●r●els most encouraging Epithet is the chosen of the Lord. Psal. 105.6. 1 Chron. 16.13. And so under the gospel, though they be a people scattered through Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asin and Bythinia. Yet it is their honourable Epithet, Elect according to the fore knowledge of God. 1 Pet. 1.2. and a chosen generation 1 Pet, 2.7. For indeed E●ection is the sum of all happiness. Psal. 22 12. Happy is the people whom God hath chosen: It is the Reason of support under saddest pressu●es. Jacob whom I have chosen, thou art my servant; I have chosen thee and not cast thee away; fear thou not, I am with thee, be not dismayed, for I am thy God. I will strengthen thee, I will uphold thee by the Right hand of my Righteousness. Isai, 41.8, 9 10. And of Salvation ●u● of most desperate dangers: nay the enjoyment of all good is assured in, and by our Election. Oh! Jacob my servant, and thou Jesuron whom I have chosen; I will pour water on him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground, I will pourmy spirit upon thy seed, and my blessings upon thy Offspring. Isai. 44.2, 3. Election is the Fountain of all favour, not only vocation, justification, sanctification and glorification, but even redemption. The reason of all these is the result of our Election; we are indeed chosen in Christ, Eph. 1.4. but Christ was chosen for us; he is Caput Electorum, not Causa Electionis, the head of the Elect, but not the ground of election. God did not choose us because he would show his wisdom in the redemption by Christ, but doth show his wisdom and redemption by Christ, because he had chosen us; our Election was the enforcement of our redemption, for the foundation of God abideth sure, 2 Tim. 2.1. the Lord knoweth who are his, and of his chosen he will not lose any: so that the holy services of the Godly must needs find acceptance, for they are a special people in God's eye, and election from all eternity, in whose behalf he hath purposed and provided the utmost good that can be, for they are indeed in special relation to him, and shall be specially regarded by him, however they are suffered sometimes to lie common as of no esteem. Again secondly, The Godly are in special Relation to God, Redemption because Redeemed by him: they are not only his by creation, wherein yet the Emphasis lieth on the Godly, for in planting the Heavens, and laying the foundations of the earth; He hath said unto Zion thou art my people. Isai. 51.16. But also by redemption: Psal. 8. great is the dignity stamped on them by cretion, wherein he was made but little lower than the Angels, but much greater is the dignity of our redemption, wherein we are made higher than Angels, who are but ministering spirits to the redeemed of the Lord. Redemption is the assurance of highest favours, for it is the result and expression of greatest love and good will; the redeemed are those who have cost God dear, Heb. 1.14. & therefore must not be despised, he hath bought them, not with coruptible things as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Jesus Christ, 1 Pet. 1.19. It is the highest Epithet of honour, They shall be called the Redeemed of the Lord. Isai. 62.12. For that is the Evidence of their Election, and effect of unspeakable compassion, and cannot but assure them, and however they are now disregarded, dispersed and distressed in the World, yet they shall be looked after and returned with comfort, for the arm of the Lord shall awake, and make a way through the Sea, for the ransomed of the Lord, to pass thorough, and the Redeemed of the Lord shall return to Zion with singing, and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and mourning shall flee away. Isai. 35.9.51.10, 11. Can God be mindless of his Church, bought with his own blood? hath he not spared his Son, but given him for us, Rom. 8. ●2. and shall he not much more spare us all things el●e? hath he bought us with a price to glorify him in soul and body, and redeemed us to be unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works, and shall he not have special respect unto our performancies? vocation. Lastly, the godly are in special Relation to God, by their vocation, they are the chosen from eternity, Redeemed with inestimable price; yea, and the called of the Lord: the Elect of God lie sometimes in the estate of darkness, and by nature are no less liable to the wrath of God, than the worst of men running with others in the same excess of riot, Ephes. 2.2, 3. Titus 3.3. subject to the God of this World and serving divers lusts, thus it was with Abraham, and thus it was with the apostles until the grace of God appeared, and called them out of darkness into his marvellous light: Heb. 3.1. but the godly are made partakers of the heavenly calling; an estate of honour, unto which not many wise, not many rich not many noble do attain. 1 Cor. 1.26. Vocation is the execution of Election, and extension of favour intended from eternity: whom God praedestinated, them he called Rom. 8.39. Our calling is that which actually entitles us to the privileges of grace, and brings us into con: formity to, and communion with God, engageth us to walk with G●d and assureth that he is our God alsufficient, our shield and exceeding great reward: we are culled and called to bear up God's name in the World, and therefore must needs be cared for by him above the rest of the world, he hath called us and must needs conserve us to his heavenly Kingdom. If the cry of the called and chosen of God, be of more value than that of the slighted and rejected of the Lord; if the complaints and holy conservation of the Redeemed be worth regard, than the Godly and their holy exercise must needs meet with special acceptance: this speciality of relation is the great Reason of the Saints affliction, and suffering by the World, and shall it not be the reason of their support & safety, the World hates them because chosen out of the World, and shall they not then be kept in the World, and from the evil of the World? John. 17. the the Devil rageth against them, because the redeemed of the Lord, and shall they not, through divine favour, shortly bring Satan under their feet? their friends forsake and contemn them, because the Called of the Lord shall not God than favour and fill them with joy in the light of his countenance? So long as the godly stand in this special relation by Election, Redemption and Vocation; they cannot but find special acceptance of their service in sinful times. But secondly. They are a people specially qualified for God; they are not only Vessels of honour, but fitted for the master's use: they have not one-divine election, Redemption and Calling, to enforce God's affection towards them, but singular holy qualities in their own mind and spirit, to attract and draw unto themselves the divine favour, like good Children are beloved by the Father not only, for that innate Reason because Children, but because good, they are the subjects of all those qualities which are the objects of divine complacency, they do what God delighteth in: they are godly, and hath not godliness the promise of this life, and of that which is to come? and they are employed in holy exercises, and that is profitable, when bodily exercise profiteth not. The Text taketh notice of their rare qualifications, and they are two they fear God and think upon his name: they are both habitually and actually holy: the fear of God that spring of prudence, and beginning of all wisdom, designing matters of highest importance, discerning dangerous and difficult oppositions, and directing all way and means for the accomplishment of its great design of favour and Reconciliation. That spur of duty that trembleth at God's Word, trampleth on all obstructions, and traveleth with constancy and cheerfulness in the way of God's holy Commands: That strength against corruption and temptation curbing lusts, casting off allurements, and courageously standing against humane fury which can only kill the body, the fear of God which made Abraham leave his Father's house and follow God he knew not whither; Mat. 10.28. which made Joseph faithful in Potiphars house, not daring to commit lewdness with his wanton Mistress; that made Obadiah compassionate toward, and careful to preserve the Prophets of God; that kept Job upright in the East, and restrained the Idolatry imposed on the three Children, and spurred Daniel to be exact in devotion, when never so much liable to danger, that filled the Martyrs with zeal in adhaerence to truth, under hellish torments. This fear of the Lord is the quality, habit, and disposition of such as live godly in evil times, for indeed others that want this, cannot do that; the want of divine fear is the very ground of a●l impiety, and shall not this special quality make them acceptable to God? the fear of the Lord is to be prized above favour which is deceitful, and beauty which is vain. Prov. 31.30. And the Lord seeketh such as fear him to serve him, and his eyes are on such as fear him his ears are open unto their cry, Psal. 33.18. And his pity is to them as a Father to his Child. Psal. 103.13. The fear of the Lord tendeth to life he that hath it shall be satisfied, and shall not be visited with evil. Prov. 19.23. but if visited he that feareth the Lord shall come out of all evil: such is God's delight in this special quality, Eccl. 7.18. that though the sinner do evil an hundred times and be delivered, yet certainly, it shall go well with them that fear the Lord. Eccles. 8.12. But they are not only united unto God, by the fear of his nam●, but do also act it unto his honour: ●. By thinking on his name. they have not only this holy habit imprinted on, and implanted in their hearts, but it is operative and sendeth forth its fruits and effects, they that feared the Lord thought ●pon his name, and spoke often one to another. The fear of God fills the Godly man with the thoughts of God's Name; and so fills him with grief and jealousy, because of the blasphemy which is belched out against this holy name, and the dishonour that is done unto it: like ingenious children they are affected with the Father's disgrace, & the very zeal of God's house consumeth them their cry is, what shall become of God's holy name: the thoughts of God's name fixeth them in faith, and filleth them with fervour, to cleave close to God and his Covenant under the utmost of opposition. The name of the Lord is a strong Tower, the Righteous run into it and are safe. Prov. 18.10. They trust in the name of the Lord, when others trust in Chariots and in horses. Psal. 20.7. And so by the fear of the Lord they depart from iniquity, for let what trouble will befall the godly, they deal not falsely in God's Covenant, because, they forget not God's name: the dread of God's name is on the spirit, to deter impiety, to drive on duty, and quiet the soul in dependence on the same: not only doth the fear of God stir up the thoughts of God's name, but engageth the Godly to speak one to another, to be much in complaints and conference each with other: their hearts swell with holy thoughts, and their tongue give vent unto the fire, they can, not but speak against fin, in defence of God and holiness, when the wicked say, it is in vain to serve God, etc. But of this in the next Reason: we see then that the Godly are fitted for divine favour, being affected with, and afflicted for God's name, in an evil, dark and cloudy day; and can it choose but engage Gods affections unto them: but so much for the first Reason, why God hearkens and heareth, causeth a book of Remembrance to be written, and showeth special respect to holy services in times of prospering profaneness: they are the performances of special persons related to, and qualified for God, for if the tears of a Mother could move an Alexander to o●liteate all accusations, how much more shall the tears and prayers of the Elect, Redeemed, Called, and them that fear the Lord, and think on him. Render savouries the services of holiness. They perform special service, and therefore must needs meet with special acceptance: holy actions are always good, but sometimes they shine with more than common splendour; God as well as man hath extraordinary services to put his people upon: some special acts of sanctity are laid on some hands which are not on others, and done at sometimes which are not to be done at others. Thus prayer is the work of every day, but holy fasting and Religious vows are the extraordinary service of extreme affliction: and so Christian conference, though the very act and du y of the Communion of Saints, yet this speaking one unto another in the day when men speak stout words against God, and say it is in vain to serve him, is special and peculiar service. It is special service unto God in respect of the matter of it to speak one unto another by way of complaint, of God's great dishonour, by way of comfort under such sad prospering providences to the most profane: & by way of confirmation one of another, under so strong temptations to apostasy: this is no ordinary work to express such sense of, and zeal for God; It is not the work of every soul, no not of every Saint: to instruct many and strengthen the weak hands, to speak words that may uphold the falling, to strengthen the feeble knees as did Job; to preach a sermon, pen a Psalm, and become a pattern of patience, Job. 3.3, 4. Isa. 37. as did David, in perplexing times of prospering profaneness is no ordinary service, no, this requires strength and measure as well as truth of grace; they must be strong in the faith, that restore a fallen brother with a spirit of meekness. To speak one to another is special service, in respect of the principle that animateth and acteth the same, the fear of the Lord, that excellent, useful and acceptable grace before spoken of, is, the primum mobile spring of this motion, wheel of this Clock, Reason of this zeal for Religion. The thoughts of God's name is the oil that makes this lamp to burn, and the fullness of those holy hearts who speak out of their abundance; but on these I intent not to insist. The speciality of this service which indeed sets the lustre on it and sends it with strength and holy violence towards Heaven, is the season in which it is performed. Then they that feared the Lord spoke often one to another: Pro. 25.11. every thing saith Solomon is beautiful in its season: and a word spoke in season in like apples of gold in pictures of silver. It is the season that sets a lustre on these holy exercises, they were performed in that juncture of time which eminently called for them, & God's attendance to the discharge of them: Then they spoke often one to another, when all men almost spoke against them and their God: then when the multitude did wickedly, and walked stubbornly against God: they walk submissively with God, then when the prosperity of the wicked made men embrace impiety, as the step to honour, and stirrup of authority, when only they that tempted G●d were delivered, and such as wrought all manner of wickedness were set up: they clavae close to piety, and the practices thereof; they patiently wait on God, and plead his Cause and provoke one another to courage and constancy, then when every tongue was tipped with blasphemy against God and Religion, they spoke in the defence of both, and witness it is not in vain to serve God, or walk mournfully before him, that God is just and gracious and hath regard unto the Righteous, so that their then holy exercises were vindications of God and godliness; convictions of wicked, profane, contempts of piety and blasphemies uttered commonly aghast God. Confirmations of weak brethren, ready to stumble at prospering profaneness, and complaints of zeal and affection to Gods holy name, dishonoured so that they run counter to the common cry of the multitude, set to do evil, and were singular from their neighbours, the subjects of scorn and fury: speaking for God and Religion, when common policy, nay almost Christian wisdom did conclude it an evil time in which the prudent should keep silence. For all the fruit to be expected was opposition and persecution, so that this is indeed special service. To live as lights in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, Phil. 2. 1●. holding forth the word of righteousness: If God have respect to his Children, much more to his Champions; he cannot but take it well to see men best in the worst times. Shall he slight them that stand for him, against the very pride of prospering profaneness? Shall he not see to them, that make all the world see; They can serve God for nought? Hath God registered all the holy men that have served him? no, only such are made Eminent in sacred and Ecclesiastic story, who have done especial service to God. Noah a Preacher of Righteous, Let whose Righteous soul was grieved for the sins of Sodom: Job a mirror of patience, under the prond censures of his prosperous friends: David a Cham: 'pon of piety against the pride of Saul: Paul whom bonds and imprisonment did attend in every place: Origen the pillar of truth against Pagan philosophy: Athanasius, that hammer of the Arrian Haerisie: and Luther, that trumpet of the World, and monster of men for his opposition of Pope, Empire and Devil. These and such like are monuments of divine support, preservation and favour; because patterns of true courage, zeal and piety. Antipas must not only have an honourable mention, but be made an honour to the Church at Pergamus, because Gods faithful Martyr slain where Satan dwelleth; and it shall be the only note of Renown to the Church herself to dwell where Satan's seat is, and yet to hold fast: Rev, 2.13 sinful compliance, shameful connivance, and odious Toleration of false Religions is the blemish whilst zealous, constant adhoerence to God, and courageous opposition of impostors is the duty & only dignity of seven famous the Churches of Asia: this is the especial service enjoined, and expected; and when it is done cannot but be esteemed. God loves to see our garments clean, and unspotted insoyling and dirty times: he must lend an ear to that one tongue that speaks for him and his truth against common talk, and cause a book of Remembrance to be written for them that repine at the prosperity of profaneness, and read Lectures of patiented pursuit of piety, when it seems to be in vain to serve God, and make them Jewels in esteem who were soel in efficacy and operation sparkling in adverse time, and spare them in the day of his visitation, who spare not them selus, nor are spared by others in the hour of temptation: It adds no small Emphasis to prayer, when we can appeal to God, for thy sake we are killed all the day long; and are counted as sheep for the slaughter. All this is come upon us, yet have we not forgotten thee, or dealt falsely in thy covenant: But so much for the second Reason. The Godly and their holy exercises in evil times do, 3d Reason, and cannot but meet with special acceptance because God is specially engaged to reward them: with the pure, the Lord cannot but be pure, and righteous towards the righteous, though he doth not always discover it unto humane sense; yet he is so i● himself and his people's faith: his love once fixed is never re●●ved, but yet it is not ever displayed or discerned. It is consistent with the sharpest of chastisements, though seldom so conceived: In justice, wisdom, and faithfulness he many times hides his face from his dearest David, and giveth the beloved of his soul to the oppressor, & suffereth proud men to prevail and trample on his truth and people & succeed in such horrid impiety as may make the wicked to say, God regardeth not the righteous, and it is in vain to serve him: nay it may stumble the Godly themselves, and make them almost slip, and say, in vain have I washed my hands in innocency, and God hath forgotten to be gracious: but yet whilst God standeth at this distance from his people, and seemeth so much to own and countenance the wicked; God is bound (to spaek with reverence) in unviolable bonds to respect the righteous, and openly even in the sight of men to give public testimony of such special respect. Hereunto he is engaged not only by the common course of piety, but by special engagements and peculiar obligations which arise partly from himself, and partly from his people First, God engaged by himself. God is under special engagements of special respect to them that are Godly, in evil times and that from himself, and they are two, the 1. Vindication of his name and properties. 2. Verifying his word and promises. The first engagement that lieth on God to show respect to the godly in times of prospering profaneness is the Vindiction of his name and properties: So long as the wicked prosper and the godly are oppressed Gods properties are clouded, and his name contemned: but after return of the godly the cloud is dispelled, and contempt discharged: the favour of God is extended to the righteous of out his fear of their enemies: For God is jealous of his name, and glory and will not suffer the honour thereof to be given to another: God's chastisement of his children is many times checked by the pride of the rod, which riseth up against himself, whilst it rageth against his people: the prosperity of the profane and perplexitly of the pious, puts God on the Vindication of his power and justice, holiness and truth: All which are arraigned at the Bar of humane fancy, and there condemned; some times, and that often, the wicked charge God with positive impotency but ever attribute to themselves the acts of his power, in their own prosperity & his people afflictions they often say because God was not able to bring them into the Land of which he swore, therefore he slew them, Numbers, 14 16. And what is the Lord that he should deliver out of my hands? Is he able to do more than the Gods of Hamath and Arphad, and the Gods of Sepharvaim dumb Idols that had no power saith railing Rabshakeh? Isa. 36.18. And so tauntingly insult over the faith of the godly with a Where is your God, and he trusted in God, let him save him if he will have him; Christ cannot be crucified but his Divine power must needs be denied with a now he cannot come down from the Cross and save himself, who would build the temple in three days: these are the wild conclusions of such as know he had saved himself from their rage until the appointed time: and when they do not positively speak God's impotency, they attribute to themselves the ●ct of his power, and cry, our hand is high and the Lord hath not done all ●his. D ut. 32 27. And by the strength of my hand have I done it and by my wi●d m, for I am prudent. Isa. 10.14. So that there is a necessity laid upon God to restrain his wrath towards his provoking children, lest the enemy behave himself proudly, and say my hand hath done it: and God must rescue Is●●●ll fro● Assyria, the rod of his anger, because The Rod shaketh itself ●gainst him that lifteth it up: So that a more pregnant argument cannot ●e urged in prayer, for God's appearance, than the necessity of making, known his power unto the end of the Earth: Nor is God more engaged to vindicate his power, than his Justice, and holiness, how often have the heathen concluded by the prosperity of the profane, that either there is no God, or he is not a Righteous God but that he loveth impiety? as Dionysius concluded, the Gods take delight in Sacrilege; but we need not traverse profane, whilst sacred story abounds; with such sinful instances, how do the most wicked oppress the righteous? & cry God doth not see, God hath forgotten it, and hideth his face, he will not see nor doth he regard it, Psalm, 10.11. It is in vain to serve God and no Profit, to wa●ke mournfully all the day, for we call the proud happy, etc. And so that God is taxed to be an hard master, and holiness is judged vanity, nay the very godly themselves ●re ready to condemn the generation of the just to be a company of fools that do in vain wash their hands and cleanse their hearts because they are afflicted all the day long: They sometimes rashly conclude God hath forgot n to be gracious; and so lay injustice to God's charge, nay the pride of the profane carrieth to conclude, because of God's silence, th●t he is all together such an one as themselves, an a bettor and approver of their profaneness and therefore do begin their impious designs, with prayer to him, & return their success in sin, with solemn, praises to him, can a God of jealousy heart his blasphemy & not remove its cause, and set the iniquity of the wicked before their eyes and by making the godly see that the prospering profane men stand but in slippery places that so they may conclude, truly God is good to the righteous, and by rescuing the just from the power of the oppressor make all the world proclaim verily there is a reward for the righteous, verily there is a God who judgeth the earth: Psalm, 58.11. Nor is God more necesstated to manifest his favour to the godly, to vindicate his justice and holiness, than many other of his properties, and the righteous course, of his providence, in directing all things to the good of them that fear him; which I must not stand to explain, but pass unto one property, more and that is his truth, faithfulness. And this leads us to the second special engagement, which is from himself, laid on God, to manifest respect to those that are godly in evil times. viz. Verifiying his word and promises the Lord is just in all his works, and true in all his say: His word is establ shed for ever, no I●t● of it must fall to the ground, many are the gracious promises God hath made to the righteous, and the de●ay of their accomplishment makes them many times the derision of the wicked, who blasphemously demand, Where is the promise of his coming? And so mock the Prophets of the Lord: and therefore, though the vision tarry for an appointed time, yet it shall come, it shall not ●arry; though the children of God many times doubt, a●d their enemies deny the truth of what is spoken concerning Israel, yet all must be accomplished, that God may be proclaimed faithful and true; God hath said it, and shall he not make it good, he hath spoken it, and shall he not accomplish it? Shall be the reason why, no enchantments can prevail against Jacob. We see then however the wicked prosper, and the godly suffer for a season Yet their labour cannot be in vain, they must come into God's thoughts, and be honoured amongst men, Who are faithful to him in evil times And; the very height of the wicked helps forward the salvation of the just, for God's properties must be vindicated, God's word must be verified, and that is the first p●rt of the reason, but secondl●. God is under a special engagement, to show special respect unto the godly, and their holy exercises in tim●s of prospering profaneness and that in respect of the godly themselves, and that to. Prevent the danger of sin. Plead the cause of the just. The first engagement laid on God in respect of the Righteous, is to prevent the danger of sin: the prosperity of the wicked is the saddest stumbling stone that can lie in the way of the Godly, on this they have done and many times do fall and fearfully wound themselves; continual sorrow on the godly, and success to the profane, will make the very best of men ready to shake hands with piety, and strikes hands with the wicked: but God is faithful and will not suffer us to be tempted above what we are able, and therefore will not suffer the Rod of the wicked to lie always on the lot of the Righteous, lest they put forth their hands to do wickedly. Psal. 125. ●. The second engagement on God is, To vindicate the Righteous cause of his people. The time of cross providences is the time of the proud censures of the profane: when God seems not to Regard, the wicked are subject to Reproach the godly: if Job be in adversity, the sting of it shall be his friends false accusations of hypocrisy; and if David be driven from Jerusalem b● his son Absalon, he shall be cursed by Shimei, and called a man of belial, and a man of blood, and a traitor to his Master Saul. If a Viper be on Paul's hand, he shall be determined a murderer, but when God ariseth and delivereth the Righteous, and setteth him in safety from him that puffeth at him: then shall the tune be changed, if God return the captivity of Job, his censorious friend's shall be the first that come to comfort him; and if David return in peace, Shimei shall be the first that meeteth him with confession of his wicked cursing: & if Paul escape the venom● of the Viper than h● shall be called a God: For men's censures are as changeable as their condition; the Resurrection of name and estate goeth together, and therefore it is, that God's appearance to the rescue of the Righteous from the proud, is said to be a pleading their cause: the godly under the clamours of the wicked, commit their Righteous cause to God, silently bear all reproaches, and wait for God's righteous judgement, and therefore God is engaged to restore their estate and cause their Righteousness to break forth as the sun at noonday: so that if we well weigh the Specialty of Relation, God's people stand in unto him, the special service they do for him in the time of prospering profaneness, and the special engagements which lie on God we must needs see that there si great reason for the special respect he showeth them, for it is a just thing with God to render tribulation to them that trouble you, and to you that are troubled, peace with him. 27 Thes. 1.6, 7. I now pass then to the application of this doctrine, and shall only improve it unto two uses. viz. To 1. Check and abate the insolences of the wicked. 2. Cheer and animate the discharges of the Righteous. Is it so? as certaainly so it is; that the godly and their holy exercises in times of prospering profaneness do meet with such special acceptance from the Lord of hosts? let this then check and abate the insolences of the wicked, the ungodly cannot prosper, but they are proud, nor the Children of God be chastised, but they are condemned by the wicked: the Proud cannot be called happy, nor they that work wickedness be delivered, etc. But they blaspheme God and Religion, and insult over and reproach the Righteous. God cannot a little frown on his people, but the wicked cry he hath forsaken him. Psal. 71.11. and follow them with mocks, taunts, and reproaches, as the very sting of their affliction: David can no sooner be driven from Jerusalem by Absalon, but he is cursed and called dead dog, man of Belial, and bloody man, and counted a rebel unto Saul (whom he durst never resist) by a blaspheming Shimei: nor shall Jobs sorrows seize on him without the proud censures of his prosperous friend's: Christ cannot be delivered into the hands of men by the determinate council of God, but he is accounted stricken, smitten of God and forsaken, nay the pride of the wicked carrieth them out unto blasphemy against God, as one that seethe not, regardeth not, fogetteth and forsaketh his people: that is impotent and cannot, or mindless and will not save, or show favour to the Righteous, and so the rich oppress the poor, condemn and kill the just and none resist them, and cry out in insolence, Aha, so we would have it, and there is none that can deliver out of our hands: and so conclude it is in vain to serve God, and walk mournfully all the day, not only in their pride, treading down the godly, but trampling on their holy exercises, in such evil times, as of no weight or moment, meeting with no acceptance from God or men; little considering the special favour God beareth to them, who all this while fear before him, think of his name, and speak often one to another, as resolved to bear the reproaches of the wicked, yet not to forget God or deal falsely in his Covenant, though they be killed all the day long, and counted as sheep for the slaughter: but let the wicked well weigh in their thoughts the special acceptance that the godly & their holy exercise, in evil times, doth receive from the Lord of hosts, and it will cool their courage, abate th●ir insolency, check their pride and blasphemy, whilst the language thereof is that of the Psalmist, in Plas. 75.4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. I said unto the fools, deal not so foolishly: and to the wicked, lift not up the horn: Lift not up your horn on high: speak not with a stiff neck; for promotion comes not from the East or from the West, or from the South, but God is judge he putteth down and setteth up another: for in the hand of the Lord there is a cup and and the wine is red; its full of mixture, and he poureth out the same; but the dregs thereof all the wicked of the earth sh●ll wring out and drink them, the horns of the wicked shall be cut off, and the horns of the righteous shall be ex●lted. And under all the prosperity of the profane, and oppression of the righteous, we may hear the godly thus courting the wicked in the language of the ●fflicted Church. Rejoice not over me, oh mine enemy, though I ●al, I shall rise again, when I sit in d●rkness the Lord shall be a light unto me: I will be●r the indignation of the Lord, because I have sinned against him, until he plead my cause and execute judgement for me, he will bring me forth to the light, I shall behold ●●s Righteousness, than she that was mine enemy shall see it and be ashamed, Mic. 7. ver. 8 9 Let Babylon boast. Rabshakeh r●il, and the wicked insult over and reproach the godly, at what rate they will, when in affliction and distress, yet they must know they are related to, and accepted by the Lord: he hearkeneth, and heareth the conference. and complaints constrained from them by the prosperity of profaneness, and remembreth to reward them: they are no less in his esteem then his jewels, or under his correcting hand, than sons, only sons who serve him, and whom he must spare, the vile vassals and base slaves may see the dear children chastised, and deride them under the Rod, but their rejoicing is only from the teeth outward, being checked with this consideration, they are children, and will be cockered as soon as corrected: could but the wicked, when employed to chastise the righteous whom God gives into their hands, hear that voice of God? I have forsaken mine house: I have left mine heritage, I have given the dearly beloved of my soul into the hand of her enemy. Jer. 12.7. It would (as the hand writing on the wall against Belshazar) make the hearts and bones to tremble, for every word is an emphatical expression of affection and enforcement of a favourable return: mine house, mine heritage the dearly beloved of my soul he must needs hearken and hear. This special acceptance of the godly and their holy exercise doth suggest unto us sundry special considerations, which may check and abate the insolency of the wicked, and teach them to assuage their pride towards the Righteous and their blasphemies towards their God and the course of Religion, and they are these (viz.) 1. Enmity of God is consistent with the enjoyments of the world: peac, plenty, health, liberty, wealth and dignity, the utmost enjoyments and highest of prospering providences are attendants on impiety, and no expressions of favour and friendship of God: however they be extension: of general goodness they are not the least Evidences of peculiar armity: the wicked may be advanced to afflict the righteous, and yet never be accepted of the Lord, nay have God for their very enemy, and one that designeth their ruin and rejection: they are not more the objects of Saints deprecation and imprecation then of God's indignation: however they at present succeed in sin and God stands silent, he will e'er long set their sin in order before their eyes: though they are called happy and delivered, and set up in the World, they are proud workers of wickedness, tempting God, whom the Lords soul hateth: though they may tender unto God some sacred services, and solemn sacrifices God hath no delight in them shuts his eyes to their offerings, his ears to their cries, and counts all unsavoury: The very incense and and prayers they offer is an abomination: they can, by the serious observation of an awakened conscience, see nothing but frowns, wrath, enmity and hatred towards them in the face of God: their very enjoyments and blessedness are expressions of displeasure: they are indeed in his service and do him some work, but it is mere drudgery, fit for slaves, not sons to be employed in; he useth them but his Rod, Axe, saw or sword, which are usually employed against the objects of his affection, his dearest friends and choicest children; with the exceeding grief and compassion of his spirit, & having done this work must be rejected, & ruined: what reason hath Assyria to be lifted up, & in his pride to boast of the might of his power and multitude of his Princes, and brag of his cruel purposes, saying in his heart I will destroy nations, not a few, whilst in all his glory & puissance, he is only the Rod of anger towards others, and object of his hatred in himself; and so soon as God hath done his whole work upon mount Zion, and upon Jerusalem, he will punish the stout heart of the King of Assyria, & the glory of his high looks. Isai. 10.12. What is Babylon better for sitting as a Queen, and exalting her throne above the stars of God, ascending the height of the clouds, & being like the most high, smiting the Nations with a continual stroke, ruling them in anger, and persecuting, without respect, unto the reproach of Zion, with a now sing us our Hebrew Songs whilst God is her enemy, and will certainly bring her down: were the prospering providences of this life any certain evidences of favour and friendship with God, they might be some causes of confidence? but to be thus raised for the greater fall, and enjoy nothing but what is consistent with, and an expression of anger and enmity, as a reservation and fitting to the day of destruction; may well abate insolences, and cause low and humble enjoyment of present comforts: this may well check the joy, kerb the triumph & make bitter the sweetest morsels of the wicked: when common blessings do come with and spring from the remission of sin, they occasion serious joy and thanksgiving, because they are the tokens of amity, but whilst the wrath of God abides, joy, much more insultation, is to be checked: the Prophet Oded doth check the triumph of Israel when they had obtained a victory over their brethren of Judah by the suggestion of God's wrath against themselves. 2 Chron. 28. You have slain your brethren with a Rage which reacheth unto heaven and now you think to carry them Captive, as if there were not sins among you, or the wrath of God did not abide on you. Sad are the victories of brethren over brethren especially where the conquerors are no less obnoxious to divine; displeasures, if not much more than the conquered: Thus also the Apostle James doth call men most prosperous, to mourn on the memorial of the last judgement which must manifest God's enmity to them, in James 5.1. Go to now you rich, howl and weep, for your miseries are coming upon you, etc. So long as the enmity of God abides on any, the best of outward enjoyments afford no cause of jo●, or triumph much less of insolency and blasphemy. 2. Especial favour is every way consistent with the utmost of external, and present afflictions: the righteous may be despised of men, and seemingly disregarded of God, & yet be the dear children of God: They may lie common amongst other men, in all outward condition, and yet be jewels in God's account: Abraham may wander in the World as a mere stranger, and yet be God's friend. Pharaoh and Abimelech may begin to deal with him as one forsaken, and yet find he is the favourite of the great God who rebuketh Kings for his sake. Ephraim may be spoken against, and yet be a pleasant child. Job may be left to the power of the Devil, and proud censures of his prospering friends and yet be accepted of God as the only upright man of the East: Israel may be delivered into the hand of the enemy, and yet be the dearly beloved of God's soul: and this is no mean check to the insultings of the wicked, how ever afflictions abound on the godly, God's affections abate not towards them. Never was Antipater's accusations more kerbed with Alexander's affections to his accused mother, with an Nescitne Antipater? etc. Knoweth not Antipater that one tear of a mother will wash away all accusations? then the wicked are by God's continued Respect to the Godly and their holy service, Cain is cr●ssed in nothing more, then that his brother meets with more acceptance than himself, nor is Esau more enraged at any thing than jacob's carrying away the Father's bl●ssing; it avails not Haman any thing that he is the greatest Prince in Persia, if Mordecai the Jew ever become the King's favourite, let the estate of the Godly be never so miserable, yet if God favour them, the wicked are sure to fall before them, the envy of the wicked admits them no content, so long as the sorrows of the Godly may consist with their access to, and acceptance with God. It is storied that the holy Monks of Bangar were slain by King Ethilfrid the Saxon, King of Northumbria, for no cause but fas●ing & praying for the Britain's in West Chester. Oh the envy at access to God 3. Especial acceptance of the godly and the holy exercise in times of prospering profaneness doth argue falsehood and folly in the wicked: they draw many sinful conclusions from the sad premises that do befall the godly, and that both against God, godliness and godly men. They suggest and say God hath forsaken the earth, hath no Regard to the Righteous, hath forgotten his people, and cannot, or will not deliver them, they conclude him, by their own success in sin all together such an one as themselves, they conclude piety to be vanity, and say it's in vain to serve God, or walk mournfully all the day long, and therefore they restrain prayer before God, & shake hands with God, let him departed from us, we desire not the knowledge of his ways, they embrace impiety as the thing in which God delighteth, with lying, stealing, adultery, murder & what not iniquity? they come & fit before the Lord, & say we are delivered to work all these abominations: They pass proud and false censures on the Godly, brand them with hypocrisy, pride, ambition, charge them with grossest profaneness, conclude God's hand on them to be austere punishments of their impiety, implacable expressions, of his provoked fury; tokens of hatred and utter rejection, as if there were in God no favour toward them, or their captivity should never be returned, thus did Jobs friends falsely censure him, from his suffering condition; and cursing Shimei, lay treason, blood, perfidy, and rebellion, to the charge of a suffering David, and the blasphemous Jews upbraid the faith of the Lord Jesus as vain, for that God had forsaken him, when fallen into their hands: nor is it wonder to hear such falsehood from profane tongues, whilst the perplexities of the godly, and prosperities of the wicked, make the best of men ready in their haste, to say all men are liars, Psal. 116.11. and I have washed mine hands in vain, and God hath forgotten to be Gracious: But the favour of God doth charge falsehood on all these suggestions, and convince the wicked to be liars indeed, enslaved to a spirit of fallacy, for when the Lord evidenceth the acceptance he had of holy exercises in evil times, and the esteem he had for holy men, when God comes to make up his jewels, and to lay open before men his attention to, and Recordation of the constant piety of his perplexed people, and redeemeth them from their distress, he makes the worst of m●n, to give themselves the lie, and to change their tune, and say, verily there is a God that ruleth the earth, there is a reward to the righteous: Truly God is good to Israel, to him that is pure in spirit, God will not forsake his people, now he pleads, their cause, and brings out their integrity, as the sun at noon day, and sends Jobs friends to do penance for their proud censures, passed on him, in the day of their prosperity and his disttess, and beg his prayers for their pardon, whe● God returneth the captivity of Job, all his friends do change their censorious tune, and charge falsehood on their Conclusions. Nor doth God's special favour to the godly, argue more of falsehood, than folly, in the wicked who follow the godly with fierce fury, and proud hearts, as if forsaken and forgotten of God, whilst indeed they labour in vain and do but kick against pricks: whilst the wicked pursue the righteous with purposes of extirpation, and proudly insult with a, we will pursue, we will overtake; we will destroy; we will root out the name of Israel: and in their haughtiness they do proceed to blaspheme God; as one that doth not see, or regard, doth not mind his people, or matter, what doth become of them, or else is impotent and not able to deliver out of their hand with Goliath blaspheming the God of Israel, & with railing Rabshakeh: blaspheme reproach, extol their voice, and lift up their eyes against the holy one of Israel: as not able to withstand his multitude, and puissance, & so keeping the judgements of God out of his sight, he puffeth at all his enemies, and because they escape many snares, conclude none can prevail against them, and so grow secure, and sin in the height of presumption, undertaking the most desperate achievements, extending the most cruel rage and oppression, against the godly, and that with the most God-provoking perfidy pride and blasphemy, confiding in their deep counsels; and puissant Armies: but when God ariseth for the oppression of the poor & sighing of the needy to set him in safety, from him that puffeth at him What shame shall cover their faces and folly be found in all their devices? The favour of God manifested to the godly gives just cause to befool the wicked in their simple apprehensions of God, and to say with David, understand, ye brutish among the people, and ye fools when will ye be wise, Psal. 10.7. he that planted thee are, shall he not hear? he that form the eye, shall he not see? he that chastiseth the Heathen, shall he not correct? You must know that the men whom you oppress, are the blessed whom God chasteneth, and so teacheth out of his Law: When God shall show favour to the righteous, the wicked are to be befooled, for their acquiessencie in their present prosperous estate, where honour seems to court & force itself on them with importunity, they become Lords of all, and every knee boweth unto them, so foolishly secure are they in their slippery state, that if any Mordecay be too stout to bend before them, a lofty Gallows shall take him down, and his whole nation, feel the power of the wrath of the greatest Prince in Persia, but the brutish man knoweth not, neither doth the fool understand, and this when the wicked spring as grass, and all the workers of iniquity do flourish, it is that they shall be destroyed for ever, Psa. 92.6.7. Was ever folly greater or more manifest, then that of Haman swelling in the height of his rage against a forlorn Jew, when in his confidence of, but ask and receiving, he prepared for Mordecay his execution: in the height of his ftownes, he finds the favour of ●hashsuerosh, to be to the despised Jew, as remembered to have been his faithful, servant in an hour of danger, and now the proud fool instead of listlng up Mordecay his head on his prepared Gallows must Crown it with a Royal Crown, and become the Jews Lackey to cry before him the King's favour: now his wife and friends can see when it is too late, it is no fingering thorns, or kicking against pricks, or meddling with Gods Israel without certain and shameful destruction; little did this fool think in the morning that he must take the Gallows, and the despised Jew sit in the Throne next to the King of Persia before night: thus also will God befool all the profane, who are secure in their prosperity; advancing what they despise, making the stone which the bvilders refused the head of the corner, and so manifesting that he which sits in the heavens hath them in derision, and when their calamity comes suddenly will laugh at them: little wisdom will the wicked find acted by them in casting out those whom God will gather into his Cabinet as Jewels: could but the wicked in time consider this their folly and falsehood with which they are sure to be charged, and of it openly convicted, when gods favour to the righteous doth appear it could not but check their insolency by fear of shame. 4. Envy and enraged fury will hasten the expressions of Gods special favour to the Godly: Excellently well doth the wise man counsel the wicked in his success against the Righteous. Prov. 24.17, 18. Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth, lest the Lord see it, & it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him. Et in te convertat, and turn it against thee. Mercer well addeth: for God's anger must have an object; if the pride of the wicked put a period to its expressions against the Righteous, it must be extended to themselves: God doth indeed bring his saints under the rod of correction, but yet his favour and fatherly pity is towards them: he will spare them, as a man spareth his own son which serveth him; when the rod expresseth sharpness, cutteth deeper, and smarteth beyond the father's intention it stayeth his hand, stirring up his compassion: The wicked are indeed God's sword and rod, the righteous are turned over to them to be chastised, and God Employeth them in the correction of his dearest children; and they rejoice in this service, read their commission, and so one see they are left of God unto their fury: but they regard not the Cautions and restrictions charged on them by the Lord: Like Joab they march out with resolution against Absalon, so soon as ever he receiveth commission from David; but never regardeth the restriction laid on it by the pity of a father, deal gently with the young man, even with Absalon for my sake, but fret and rage against the man that hath regard unto it: will David's affection be so far moved with the sense of relation as to limit a commission given to subdue treason and rebellion? and shall not the bowels of God's pity work much towards the righteous, his dear children? with what confidence can the rod rage whilst every stripe on the child cut● the father to the heart? Can the wicked insult in the day of Ephraim's woe, whilst God weeps and stands over him in his afflictions? Is he not my dear son since I spoke against him, my bowels are moved within me? when God sendeth the wicked against his people, their severity doth engage him, soon to call them back, and although the chastisement of his dearest children, is the service of his own appointment, yet the severity and cruelty thereof is a property of the envy, provoking God to rescue his people, and return his wrath against themselves: Gods great quarrel against Babylon is her insoleney against Zion; against whom he thus pleadeth, I was wrath with my people; I have polluted mine inheritance, and given them into thine hand: thou didst show them no mercy, upon, the ancient hast thou very heavily laid the yoke, Isai. 47.6. So also when the Philistines prevail against Israel, they provoke God because they take vengeance with a despiteful heart to destroy it, because of an old hatred, in Ezec. 25.15. God's jealousy for Jerusalem maketh him sore displeased with the heathen who help forward the affliction of his people when he was but a little angry, Zach. 1.15. If Edom do but insultingly behold his brother's affliction, it provokes God to his own destruction. Obadiah the whole prophecy doth proclaim it; the envy & enraged fury of the wicked against the godly, strains them beyond Commission, showeth the malice, hatred, and enmity which is in their heart, slighteth the God and hand by which they strike, and stirreth up such sighs and groans, fervent prayers and importunate supplications, that God hearing, cannot but arise to set the Righteous free from him that puffeth at him. Psal. 12.5. Let the wicked never lift up their horns nor in their prosperity trample on the Righteous, though left to their power, for they are still in their Father's affection beloved as sons, looked after as Jewels, and will appear objects of especial favour and acceptance. Let these considerations check and abate the insolency of the wicked. Secondly, this doctrine is useful to the righteous, seeing that the Godly and their holy exercise in evil times doth meet with such especial acceptance from the Lord of Hosts. Let the consideration hereof cheer and animate the godly in their lowest ebb and greatest affliction to be lively in, and affectionate towards acts of piety and true Religion: Lift up your heads under all the pressures of prospering profaneness; let your tongues plead for God, when all men speak stout words against him; when piety is concluded vanity, cleave close unto devotion; whatever crosses befall you, deal not falsely in God's Covenant: Remember no smart wild dissolve a solemn vow made to God, if Jepthahs' vow extend to his only daughter and dearest darling, he hath opened his mouth to the Lord and must not go back. Let me say to the godly in the language of the Apostle, be steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. 1 Cor. 15.58. Let your constancy to God's Covenant, cheerfulness in holy discharges, and Colloquy each with other, be such, as may bespeak you in Communion with God; and comfortably apprehensive, you are loved and looked after by the Lord of hosts when lowered upon & laid aside by profane men: approve your selus Jewels in holiness & the splendour of a conversation, as ever you would be found Jewels in honour and divine approbation: show yourselves Sons ready to serve, as ever you would be spared by a Father: and the more men labour to write your names and services in the dust; perform the service, speak the language, which may be recorded in God's Register, that he may hearken and hear and cause a book of Remembrance to be written before him: when prosperity doth so much attend the profane that it is a general conclusion, it is in vain to serve God; be so lively and lightsome in all acts of true devotion; as may manifest you can serve God for nought: and you are sensible of the acceptance of God under the the utmost discountenance of men; to this end consider and have in your thoughts 1. Outward afflictions are consistent with, and arguments of divine affection: no condition should make us to mistake our Father's affection: when Satan and censorious spirits do infer from the affliction, wrath, enmity and hatred from God, and impiety, wickedness and hypocrisy in the Godly, they reckon without their Host; and do conclude most falsely; inferring what their premises will not allow; and must with Jobes friends do penance and beg the prayers of their reproached friends; if ever they obtain the pardon of this soul deadning error: we cannot indeed deny but that the very godly are surprised with this temptation, and check their joys and duties by misinterpretation of of outward dispensations of providence: yet they in a composed spirit will convince themselves of a brutish apprehension of their present condition, which made them draw such belluine conclusions: how doth David befool himself for this very error? we have before shown you that Gods common course of providence is no rule to know by, it is no demonstration of God's special frowns or favour; the most wicked may be most successful, and the truly godly most afflicted: if affliction and divine acceptance were inconsistent, how came Abraham (God's friend) to be the wand'ring stranger of the World? Job that upright man in the East, to be poor and miserable Job? David God's darling to be hunted like a Partridge? Daniel zealous in devotion to be devoted to the Lion's den? the only beloved son of God, to be stricken and smitten of men and forsaken of his father? the Israelites so forsaken to fall once & again before Bejamin? and the Elect of God to be strangers scattered thorough Pontus; Galatia, Cappadocia, Asla, and Bythinia? have sober observers lived in any age, and not seen the dearly beloved of God's soul given into the hand of the enemy? Shall any than read implacable indignation, and eternal reprobation in any outward affliction? No, the Father's pity boileth within him, when he will not spare correcting for the child's roaring. God's love and affection is most rationally and religiously argued from our outward affliction, and that if you consider it as chastisement or temptation of a Father. Chastisement I have before noted is an Act of parental care and pity for the bridling lust, and purging away sin, and so a fit and full argument of affection: and Trials of faith and patience, do speak Gods high esteem of us; for he will not that stumbling stones lie in the way of weak Saints: If you were not chastened you were not children: and if not tried in the furnace you could not be boasted of as pure mettle; God outvieth the Devil by disposing Job into distress; and maketh Hell to see, his service to God is not slavish, but candid and ingenious, serving God for nought: so that passion and prejudice, ignorance and unbelief must blind their eyes that see not a consistency between God's affection and the Saints affliction, nay argueth not the one from the other. 2. God's favour and acceptance is the only acquiescency & content of a gracious heart: His study is to approve his heart to God, not to men; It is to him an easy matter to be judged of men for he expects his judgement from the Lord: Godliness with content is his only gain. Let the men of the world have their corn and wine, he only craveth the light of his countenance: Let their bellies be filled with God's treasure, so he can but keep a confidence of awaking in God's likeness, and seeing his face in righteousness, he is satisfied, Psal. 17.14, 15. What ever curb or check his outward condition puts upon him he keeps close to God; and continueth in duty; in the sense of divine favour and acceptance: if his dearest relations befool him; he matters not; he will be yet more vile in playing the fool before God: Let but God listen to his language, all the world shall not silence him; he will speak though all speak against him: If fire and faggot, sword or gibbet, axes or Engines of torments lie in the way of his duty to God, he with cheerfulness and courage passeth through all; assured in himself of divine acceptance. It is storied of the Landgrave of Hessia, that enduring a long and tedious imprisonment with much cheerfulness and constancy: being asked how he could endure it, professus est se sensisse divinas Martyrum consolationes, he answered that he felt the comforts of the Martyrs, the sense of God's special acceptance made Geneva more delightful to the noble Galleacius Caracciolus then the enjoyments of a Dukedom, and honourable pleasure of the Emperor's Court. Thirdly, and lastly, Obvious and open discrimination of the righteous from the wicked, is and will be the effect of God's favour and special acceptance: in the course of God's common providence the godly and wicked are mixed together; there appeareth little or no difference, it is with him that sweareth as with him that feareth an oath; for all things come alike to all men, only the pebbls being more in number do cover the pearls: The oriency and lustre of them is abscured, and they bear no note of excellency amongst men, save their piety which maketh them the object of men's enmity and reproach: they adhere indeed to God and his covenant, and appear in their places for both, though to the abhorrency of the wicked, for that the proud are called happy: they live slighted among men, but seen unto, and regarded by the Lord: who is approaching as a swift witness against the wicked, to plead the cause of himself and his people against the stout words and scornful carriage of the prosperous prophane-Gods time is coming when his countenance cannot be hid, his compassion must and will break out into the expressions of favour to his people; his justice must be vindicated by making all the world to change their blasphemous tune: he saith to the wicked ye shall return and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God, and him that serveth him not: when the wheel of providence hath run its round, & the children of God are taken from under the rod of correction; then shall the horn of the wicked be broken, and the horn of the righteous be exalted: then shall the Lord pick up his Jewels and proclaim their dignity by the dispensations of his favour towards them: that now the wicked shall see and say, It is good to wait on the Lord; It is not in vain to serve him: The very worst of men shall wish they may call themselves by the name of Israel, and shall now cry out verily there is a reward to the righteous. Truly God is good to Israel, When Dives in Hell seethe despised Lazarus in Abraham's bosom; when the envious Jew shall see many come from the East and West sit down in the kingdom, and themselves thrust out; when the Goats and sheep are sundered, shall not the favour of the Lord be obvious, and the discrimination of the righteous be open? be therefore contented Oh ye that fear the Lord comfort yourselves by mutual colloquy and conference: know that God hearkeneth, heareth, and his time of reward approacheth, and then they that reproach and rage against the godly shall return and discern between him that serveth God, and him that serveth him not. FINIS.