A THANKS GIVING SERMON: PREACHED To the Right honourable the Lord Maior, Aldermen, and Common council of the city of London, Upon occasion of the many late and signal Victories, and Deliverances vouchsafed to the Parliaments Forces, In Paul's Church London, July 27. 1648.  
By STEPHEN Martial, B. D. Minister of God's Word at Finchingfield in Essex.  psalm 66. 11, 12, 13. Thou broughtest us into the net, thou laidest affliction upon our loins. Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads, we went through fire and water; but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place. I will go into thy house with burnt offerings, I will pay thee my vows. 
LONDON, Printed by R. Cotes, for Stephen Bowtell, at the sign of the Bible in Popes-head Alley, 1648.   

TO THE RIGHT honourable John Warner Lord Major of the city of LONDON.  
My Lord,  
THis plain Sermon was preached in obedience to the call I received from you, it is published according to your request, and that it may be (though in never so weak a measure) a strengthening of your hands in your great work, it is humbly presented unto you as a pledge of the unfeigned respect and service of  
Your Lordships much obliged STEPHEN Martial.   

A THANKSGIVING SERMON: PREACHED To the Right honourable the Lord Maior, Aldermen, and common-council of the city of London.  ISAIAH 9 4, 5. For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian; For every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood, but this shall be with burning and fuel of fire. 
THE first word of my Text For, (For 
Introduction showing the coherence.  thou hast broken the yoke of his burden) doth tell us this hath dependence upon what is laid down before; If you please to look into it, you'll find it to be thus: The Lord in the former Chapter had threatened the terriblest calamity that ever came upon the Jewish nation, a woeful dark night of affliction of several hundreds of years was now beginning, and such calamities were threatened, as the Lord professed that many men amongst them, when they looked up to heaven, and saw nothing but darkness there, nothing but confusion upon earth, they should rave and be mad, they should curse their God that would not help them, curse their King that could not help them, should be driven into utter darkness; but yet notwithstanding in the beginning of this Chapter the Lord saith, that unto those that feared him, to his own people, the darkness and uncomfortableness of it, should not be so great, as they had formerly met with in some lesser afflictions; for God did (as i● were) create a new Star, that should shine unto his people, all that long and dark night, that is, a most glorious promise of Jesus Christ, and salvation by him, which is laid down in the seven first verses of this Chapter, and there are several degrees, or breakings out of the light of this comfort, I'll but name them so far as may lead me to the Text. First,  
The Lord tells them whence this comfort should come, there should a glorious light shine to them, in the second 
1.  verse; the people that walked in darkness should see a great light, they that dwelled in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined, which is the promise of Jesus Christ setting up his Gospel amongst them, as it is expressly interpreted in the fourth of Matthem. This Text seems to be a prophetical description of Capernaum, 
Matth▪ 4. 15, 16.  where Christ first set up his ministry some hundreds of years before it was built, which stood in the land of Galilee by the Sea side in the way leading to the Gentiles. Secondly,  
The next degree is, what the comfort is, that they 
2.  should have from this light, in the third verse, they should have great joy by it, the Lord had formerly more multiplied their nation, but never gave them more joy than now they should have, though they should be in a very afflicted condition, yet they should have as much joy in the Gospel of Christ, as ever that nation enjoyed in the days of David or Solomon; though now they should live after a precarious manner, and should be tributaries to all the four great Monarchies of the world in their succession, first to the Assyrian, then to the Persian, then to the Grecian, and then to the Roman, and all this time, a space of some 700. years, they should be a despised, contemned people, yet from the Lord Christ and the promise of the Gospel, should they have as much joy as ever they had when their Nation was most enlarged, yea such joy that it should be like the joy of harvest, or the joy that soldiers have when they divide the spoil, that is the second degree; now my text is the third degree or breaking out of this glorious comfort, and that tells you,  
What the mercy shall be that shall be the cause of so 
3.  much joy; what it is that should fill them with so much joy, why he would break every yoke of their burden, every staff that lay upon their shoulders, every rod of their oppressors, that whipped them, he would break all as he did once do it in the day of Midian, he will burn up their enemies with fuel of fire, he would free them from them all, and tread them under their feet; then the last branch of all, and the height of their comfort is,  
That Christ will not only break other yokes, but would 
4.  put the yoke of his own sweet and easy government upon them, himself will be their King; To us a Son is given, to us a child is borne, upon whose shoulder the government shall be, his name is wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of peace; and in these things should the hearts of God's people rejoice in their most afflicted times. Thus stands the dependence of my Text, so that these two verses that I have read, contain the cause of all the joy that the people of God should find in Christ in their afflicted times; and 
Scope and parts of the Text.  there are two branches of the Text to be handled. First,  
Here is the blessing that should be conferred upon them, in these words, thou hast broken the yoke of his burden, 
1 Which are A great deliverance of the Church.  the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressors: that is the mercy they should receive. Secondly, 
2 The manner how i● must be wrought.   
Here is the manner how this should be done; and that is laid down, First,  
It should be as in the day of Midian; that is, as in the day when in Gideon's time with 300. men with lamps and 
1. Judges 7.  pitchers the Lord destroyed an innumerable multitude of Midianites; so would the Lord Christ now work this great deliverance, that he promises to his people. Then, Secondly,  
The manner of it is yet more clearly and fully laid down in the 5. verse, by showing that the way of God's 
2.  working of this, shall be diverse from the manner of other deliverances: Every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood, but this shall be with burning and fuel of fire; the meaning whereof in a few words is this, This victory that God would give his people, should not be in the way of human help to do it, as Nations get victories one over another by bringing one a greater Army than the other, or better disciplined or trained men then the other, or with policy and valour, with shouting and making the others lie wallowing in their blood, and so man's arm to be the instrument of it; no, this should be with fuel or burning of fire, that is, it should be done by God's own hand; for what the Lord doth immediately himself, that is ordinarily said to be done by fire, or fuel of fire, it hath been the ordinary way of God's manifesting himself by devouring fire, when he threatens to show himself he will come in devouring fire, seldom hath he appeared, but it hath been either in smoke or fire; so than this expression signifies it should not be done by man's help, 
Interpretation of the Text.  but the Lord alone would come and do it by his own immediate hand.  
Let us now first inquire into the matter, what it is that 
1.  they should enjoy; the Lord would break the yoke of their burden, the staff of their shoulder, the rod of their oppressor: And here we must consider, First,  
What this signifies, what doth God intend in this? 
1.   
For the grammatical meaning the yoke of his burden, this is an Hebrewism, and signifies his burdensome yoke, 
1.  he will break his burdensome yoke, that is, the heavy yoke that was put upon his shoulders, by those that had enslaved him; the staff of his shoulder, that is, the staff wherewith his shoulders used to be beaten; the rod of his oppressor, that is, either the sceptre of those Tyrants that kept them under often expressed by a rod; or otherwise the rod of correction, wherewith the enemies that kept them under did use to discipline them: and by all this congeries of words, these several expressions of yokes, and burdensome yokes, and rods and staves, the Lord doth signify the greatness of that misery and bondage, that his people should lie under at that time, when Jesus Christ should come to deliver them. What are those yokes, and staves, and rods that are here meant? I answer, that it will appear clear unto every one that marks the Text, that here are two things intended.  
Breaking of the temporal yokes, the yokes that they 
1.  should lie under from the Assyrians, the Babylonians, and so the successive kingdoms and Empires, that should keep them under subjection and bondage; but principally here is meant,  
The spiritual yokes of sin, and death, and wrath, and curse; and that both these are meant is clear in the Text; 
2.  that the outward yokes are literally meant is obvious to every one's eye that doth but compare this with the two former chapters, and all the chapters that follow, for five or six of them together: in the eighth chapter the Lord threatened he would bring the Empire of Assyria upon them, and the Assyrians should carry them into captivity, and fill their land with waters up to the neck; and for a great many chapters together from the seventh chapter, I think there is not one but there is somewhat of the Assyrian Empire that should lie heavy upon the back of God's people; that is the literal, but another thing intended is, the mystical, the spiritual Babylonish yoke, the devil and sin, and death and hell; Jesus Christ will break all these yokes from off the neck of his people. And that the spiritual is intended as well and more than the temporal, is clear both by what goes before, the preaching of the Gospel should do it, and by all that follows, for unto a us Child is borne, to us a son is given: both these sorts of yokes would Christ beak by his own hand; if you would have it yet a little more clear, I conceive the deliverance most immediately intended in the letter was the destruction of that great Army of Senacherib 
2 Chron. 32. 2 King's 18. 19 Esay 36. 37.  that came in Hezekiah's time, which came to swallow them up, and was destroyed with God's hand immediately from heaven, which (as all the rest of the Jews deliverances) was intended as a Type, to show how God will break all other the yokes of those that lie heavy upon his inheritance. This then for the meaning of it, That whatsoever enemies should rise up against the Church or people of God, however they may keep them under for a while, Christ hath a purpose, and will in his own due time break them, and their yokes in pieces, and he will do it in a strange way, by his own hand, in a way that shall be very easy to him to work, but very hard for them; either to resist or to bear. This is the plain scope of the Text; Now I proceed to some matter of instructions; and first, if you look upon these words, as they stand in their connexion or dependence with the former verse, they joy before thee as the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil, for thou hast broken every yoke, the yoke of his burden, the rod of his oppressor; because God destroyed his enemies that would have destroyed him, therefore they shall joy like the joy in harvest; learn one lesson from it, very suitable to the occasion of our meeting; namely,  
That the Lord doth expect that his people should 
Obs. From the connexion of these words with the former, God's people should rejoice when God breaks their enemies & their yokes in sunder, Psal. 126.  greatly rejoice when he doth break the yoke of their enemies, and the staff and rod wherewith they whip God's people when God uses to defeat the plots, and enterprises of wicked men against his servants, he expects that the hearts of his people should be filled with joy, and their tongues overrun with his praises. There is abundance of evidence for this in the Scripture, in the 126. psalm you shall find the Church exulting, her mouth was filled with laughter, and her tongue with joy; every one that looked in the face of God's people saw them have a merry countenance; why? because God had broken the captivity of Babylon, he had brought back the captivity of his people, and broken in pieces the enemies that kept them under, so likewise did Moses and all the Israelites, 
Exod. 15.  when they saw the Egyptians sink like a stone into the depth of the Sea, in the 15. of Exodus, and Pharaoh and all his Chariots drowned in the red Sea, they all lift up their voice, and sung to God praise and thanksgiving in the highest, I will sing unto the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously, the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the Sea: So did Deborah, and Barak in the fifth of judges, when Sisera and his host was broken before 
Judges 5.  the servants of God, they rejoiced, and prayed God it might ever be so, that all God's enemies might so perish, and all his people might so rejoice; thus you shall find it prophesied in the New Testament, in the 
Vers. 19  19 of Revelations, you shall read in the latter end of the 18. chapter of the destruction of the Babylonian party, mystically Babylon, the Popish party, the Antichristian party, the Malignant Church that is risen up against the Church of Christ, there I say you shall read the ruin of it, and the means of it, the Saints help to do it, and you shall there see all the Kings of the earth weeping and howling, and all that were friends to the harlot were condoling one with another for that great loss; but in the 19 chap. in heaven, that is, in the Church of Christ, there was nothing but Hallelujah, praise ye the Lord, for the Lord hath avenged himself, and when her smoke arose up for evermore, again they say Hallelujah to see Rome burning, and the instruments that would have oppressed God's people destroyed, and trodden under foot; it was 
use. A notable trial of our hearts whether they be right to Christ and his Church.  Hallelujah to the hearts of all that fear God: This I do but touch, but,  
It may be a notable trial of your spirits, for certainly, it is a sign of a gracious spirit to refuse to be comforted in Zion's ruins, and to refuse to be sadded in Babylon's ruins; to find a soul, or a people that will hang their harps upon the willows, and will mourn and lament, and rather wish that their right hand forget their cunning, then to sing one cheerful song while God's people are in Babylon, and yet to find them full of joy and rejoicing, when God is breaking the yokes of oppressors, and treading them under feet, that rise up against them; this I say, is an argument of a heart that joins with Jesus Christ, when they fulfil that of the 66. of Isaiah, rejoice 
Esay 66. 10.  with Jerusalem all ye that mourn for her; And that of Psal. 58. 10. The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: and on the other side, it is an argument of a base spirit, of a spirit malignant against Christ and his cause, that is either rejoicing when God's people are trodden under foot, or maligns those that are the means or instruments of delivering of God's people, that with Sanballat and Tobiah, are vexed and grieved at the heart when they see God raised up any that may be for salvation to his people; but it is a token withal that as their hearts are not with Jesus Christ, but against him, so they shall perish in the ruin of his enemies: This I do but point at from the connexion, they shall joy like the joy in harvest, for Christ hath broken the yoke of their oppressors, broken the yoke of the enemy and the enemies themselves, and the enemies themselves together; but I come to the words, which I shall handle only as they respect their temporal and outward deliverances; and under that consideration there are these two lessons that I intend by the Lord's assistance to handle: The first is,  
That the Lord doth sometimes leave his own people 
Two doctrines from the deliverance promised in the Text.  to lie under heavy yokes, to have the staves and rods of oppressors lie upon their backs and shoulders: Secondly, and principally,  
That Jesus Christ will in his due time break in sunder all the yokes that lie upon his people's neck, all the staves that beat their shoulders, all the rods that whip their backs, Christ hath a time wherein he will break them all, both yokes and oppressors together, and set his people free from them; this second I most intend; a word or two of the first.  
That the Lord doth sometimes leave his own people to be under the tyranny of them that hate them: I say 
1 Doct. Christ sometimes leaves his own people under grievous yokes. Esay 8. 8.  his own people (for this was Emanuels' land, you'll read it called by the very name of Emmanuel in the eighth chapter) the Assyrian shall come and fill the breadth of thy land O Emmanuel; they were Emmanuel's people that should have these terrible yokes put upon them: to understand this lesson, be pleased to premise thus much; That it is of all judgements one of the most terrible and uncomfortable that ever a people can be exposed to, to have those that hate them to tyrannize over them, that was David's prayer, I have done justice and judgement, 
Psal. 119, 121.  give me not up to mine oppressors: O Lord deliver me from that judgement, that I be not left to wicked men, to put yokes upon my neck, to beat my shoulders; and God used to threaten it as one of the severest plagues that ever should come upon his people, when he was angry with them, that he would give them up, that they that hated them should bear rule over them: and truly it will easily appear to be one 
Esay 3. 12. Deut. 28. 29. 33. Psal. 106. 41. 42. Hos. 5. 11.  of the terriblest judgements of all, because it is a misery that is opposite and contrary to the greatest mercy that can be enjoyed upon earth; which is to have rulers and governors, such as are over a people, to be as a Sun or a Shield, as a shepherd, as a Protector, as a Father, for these are names whereby the Spirit of God deseribes good Magistrates & rulers, to give such to a people as may defend every one in his own right, protect the fatherless and widow, and see that every one have justice and judgement, that there may be no complaining in the streets of a people; but that they may live and serve God in godliness and honesty, in peace, to be preserved in security and tranquillity, O happy are the people that are in such a case, faith the Spirit of God in the 144. psalm; 
Psal. 144. 12, 13.  now if this be the greatest earthly mercy, then for God to give up a people, or to let them be given up to the judgement that is contrary to it, that their shepherds should be like them in the 34. of Ezekiel, who should kill the 
Ezek. 34.  fat, and tread under feet the lean, that should pluck off the wool, and tear off the skin; that should be as they are described in the 7. of Micah, as briars and thorns 
Micah 7. 34.  that should rend and tear the people that are under them, when the Lord shall give men up to such a condition, that those that should defend them, should enter into the field of the fatherless, and undo a man and his neighbour, without mercy and compassion, this of all judgements in the world is one of the cruelest, and the heaviest that a people can be given up to: now I tell you that God sometimes leaves his own people to this condition, there are abundance of examples, and I should spend the time needlessly to receit them to you, because you cannot be ignorant of them; so they were in Egypt, when their lives were made burdensome to themselves, by reason of the heavy yoke of bondage that lay upon them; so they were in the times of the judges, oftentimes an enemy comes in, carries away the harvest that they are ready to reap, sometimes carries away the corn they had gathered into their barns, mightily oppressed them, put heavy yokes upon them; so was it in Babylon, if you read but the fifth of Lamentations, it will make you weep to consider 
Lamentar. 5. per totum.  the sad complaint that the Church makes there, Our inheritance is turned to strangers, our houses to aliens, we have drunk our water for money, our wood is sold unto us, our necks are under persecution, we labour and have no rest, servants rule over us; we eat our bread with the peril of our lives, Princes are hanged up by the hand, young men are taken to grind, and the children fell under the wood, &c. such abundance of examples there are that I shall not need to prove it, only let me a little discover to you out of the Word, for what causes the Lord uses to leave his own people to this terrible judgement: I find three 
For what sins God useth to give up his people into the hands of tyrants and oppressors.  clear causes why God oftentimes hath left his own people to be given up to oppressors, to Tyrants, to put such heavy yokes upon their necks, their states, their consciences, their liberties, and the first & greatest & most frequent is when God himself offered to be the King and ruler of his people, to put the yoke of his government upon their 
For refusing to be under his government he gives them up to be under cruel governors.  necks, a yoke that should be sweet and easy, honourable & profitable, and his people cast off God's yoke, would not be under that, than hath the Lord frequently let them fall under the yoke of some others, that they might know the difference betwixt being God's servants, and the servants of other men; take but two instances of this, one in the 2 Chronicles 12. it was in Rehoboam's time, when 
2 Chron. 12. 8.  Shishak the King of Egypt came against them, though Egypt and Judah had been in a league, articles of peace betwixt them, Shishak comes against them, and brings a mighty Army, and Rehoboam's subjects knew not what to do, they cried to God, they prayed the Lord to deliver them, no (saith God) I will not give you wholly up to a spoil, but you shall be the servants of the Kings of Egypt; why? because they shall know the difference of my service, and the service of the other Nations; they shall see whether they had not been better to have let me be their King, then to bring those to rule over them, who I am now resolved shall be over them for a while; There is another terrible instance in the 11. of Zachariah; you shall see the purpose of that 
Zach. 11. opened.  Chapter is to signify these two things: First, that Jesus Christ would come to be a Prince and a Ruler over his people, as a faithful and good shepherd, they would none of him, they sold him for 30. pieces of Silver, which as it is noted, was but the price that a slave used to be sold at; Christ the Lord himself came from heaven, offered himself to them to be their shepherd, and they sold him for 30. pieces of Silver; A goodly price that I was sold at, saith the Lord! Well, but what becomes of this? the rest of that chapter tells you, that he will give them other shepherds that shall tear them to purpose; in the 6. verse, I will give them up every man into the hand of his neighbour, I will give them up into the hand of their King; who was that? it is plain that the Roman was their King at that time, because Christ came at that time when the Roman was over them, now when Jesus Christ would have been their King, and they say nay, we have no King but Caesar, God therefore gives them up into the Romans hands, and then they shall have shepherds that shall tear them to purpose; because they would have none of the Lord Christ, the Lord would give them up into such hands as should discipline them after another manner; that is one cause, when God 
2.  offers himself to be their ruler, and they will not have 
When his people are unthankful for good governors, he gives them up into the hands of oppressors.  him to be their ruler, than God puts other yokes upon them. Again secondly, another cause I find is this,  
When the Lord hath raised up to a people good Rulers, and Magistrates, that under them (though possibly with many human frailties) they might be ruled in godliness and honesty according to God's ways, and the people have been ungrateful for them; the Lord then gives them up to the hands of others, that they shall not be able to shake off, when they will; so you find it in the example of Gideon; when Gideon had delivered the Israelites, they came to him, and say be our King; not I (saith he) God must be your King, (which by the way, let me interpret it to you, he meant, he would not change that form of government, that God had set up in that Commonwealth, which was this, that every Tribe had their own aristocratical government, that is, the chief men of their Tribe did rule all, as it might be the Maior, Aldermen, common-council men in every Tribe, and when a time of special danger came, that an enemy invaded them, God from heaven used extraordinarily to raise up some Judge, & that danger being over the government of the Commonwealth went in the old channel) they would have had Gideon to be their King, No (saith he) not I, nor my sons, but you shall have God to be over you; well, but when Gideon died they forgot Gideon and they would have a King, and took Abimelech, who proved a cruel tyrant to them, whereupon Jotham in the 9 of judges, (when all the people were together) tells 
Judges 9, 7, &c.  them a tale; The trees (saith he) would have a King, and they went to the Olive, and the Vine, and the fruitful trees to rule over them; No (say they) we must keep every one our own rank, I cannot leave my fatness nor my sweetness, &c. But a King the trees will have, and their King proves a Bramble, so (as his speech intimates) will it prove unto you for your ingratitude to God for Gideon and unto Gideon's family, it will come to pass that this bramble your King shall first rend and tear you, and afterwards you and your King consume one another, and this curse or prophecy came upon them, and for that very cause. Another like instance we have 1 Sam. 8. God had raised up Samuel in a time of much trouble, to be a Judge and Saviour to the Jews, they took occasion upon some 
1 Sam. 8.  miscarriages of Samuel's sons to cast him off, and they would have a King after the manner of the Nations round about them, and therefore God in his wrath gave them 
Ho●ea 13. 11.  Saul, who proved a Tyrant: Ingratitude for good governors is one cause why God gives people up to such oppressors. And then thirdly, I find,  
When people use to tear and devour one another in 
3.  their petty precincts, when as any one gets a little power 
When people are tyrants and oppressors one over another, God useth to give: him into the hands of oppressors. Esay 9 21.  in his hand, he loves to put a yoke upon the neck of his brother, for this doth the Lord send them those that shall put yokes upon them all; so you find it in this very chapter, in the latter end of it, Manasses bites Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasses, and these two confederate together to bite Judah, and for this the Lord gives them up to Senacherib, and he bites & devours them all; Thus was it also, Jeremy 6. 6. when the people were given wholly to oppress 
Jer. 66. 7. 23.  one another, the City was wholly oppression in the midst of it, violence and spoil, grief and wounds were everywhere found, than was Jerusalem a city to be visited by them who should glean them as a vine, who should be cruel to them and show no mercy. Thus you see the Lord sometimes leaves his people under heavy yokes, yokes put upon their lives, estates, consciences, liberties, when they will not be under God's government, when they are not thankful for good governors, when they according to their own power will be tyrannical and oppressive one to another. I shall not stay upon the Application of this, I only say of it, as Christ of the Cup he 
Application.  was to drink, Father, if it be possible let this cup pass from me; Lord let this Cup pass from us, let not our God give us up to spoil, to confusion, to oppression; for I am too well assured that in all these things I have spoken, we have deserved to drink this cup, and our sins cry loud in the ears of God for it; and whatsoever you may say of the two latter, I am confident you'll all bear me witness we have highly deserved it in the first of these; the Lord hath offered to England the government of his own sceptre, the government of his Gospel, & he is showing us the way how he will rule us in ecclesiastical things, but alas, there is not a thing under heaven more abominable to the people of this Land, then to think that they should have such a yoke put upon them, though the aim and end of it be only to make them holy; but we will have none of it, the thing we will have, is, to live as we list, we will not have this man rule over us; the Lord grant we be not broken with other yokes; And as for ingratitude for our other Magistrates and Rulers, and for our biting and devouring one another, the Lord knows it is to be found in every corner of the Land; I only mention these things that in this day of rejoicing for mercies received, you may all join in prayer that the Lord bring not this evil upon us. Thus briefly for the first; the second lesson which I mainly aim at is,  
That howsoever the Lord sometimes lets his people lie under heavy and terrible yokes, yokes upon their lives, 
2 Doct. Christ will in due time break all the yokes which lie upon his people's necks.  names, estates, liberties, consciences, (call them by what names you will) yet Jesus Christ hath a time, when he will break them all; Thou hast broken, it was not broken yet, but God uses to speak of his mercies intended for the Church, in the preterperfect tense, as things already done, because they were so sure; the Lord Christ will break the yoke of their burden, the staff of their shoulder, the rod of their oppressor; when the Lord doth at any time leave his people in this sad condition which I have spoken of, he never puts them out of his own hand, though he may deliver them into the hands of others, he always keeps the line in his own hand, that the adversary cannot do what they list, they are bounded by him, and it is not for want of love or of power, that the Lord lets any such yoke ever come upon the neck of his people, but only from his own will, and from his own wisdom, the Lord orders it so, that the heaviest thing that betides them, shall never hurt a hair of their heads, as Christ hath it in Luke; though some of them be put 
Luke 21. 1●.  to death, not a hair of their heads shall perish, he never gives them so into the hand of wicked men, as to put them out of his own hand, or to cease his own care; but this doctrine holds out a further mercy, that though the Lord sometimes puts them into the hands of wicked men, and lets them be his rod to scourge them, beat them, pinch them, thresh them, yet in his due time he will break all those yokes, and the yokers together, all such as put them upon his people's necks, they & their yokes shall all perish, for both of them are equally intended, as it is in the next words, as in the day of Midian, not only the people of Israel were saved from Midian, but the Midianites destroyed also; and so in Senacherib's time, not only the people delivered, but the enemies destroyed; now that the Lord will do it, blessed be his name, there are 1000 promises that it shall be so, and as great a cloud of instances, to prove it hath been so; Egypt's yoke was broken, the Philistines broken, Ashur and Babylon broken, yea the ruin of all the kingdoms of the earth who have successively lain heavy upon his Church and people do all bear witness to this truth, that the rod of the wicked 
Psal. 125. 3.  shall not always rest upon the back of his people. I shall not enlarge my discourse upon this, because I think it is a known theme, every one that hath read the Scriptures can give proofs of it, I shall only present to your consideration two or three Texts, one is that of Isa. 49. 24. The Lord promised in the former Verses a great enlargement, 
Esay 49, 24, 25, 26.  increase & prosperity, so that their Land should be too narrow for them, & Kings and Queens should bow unto them, now he knowing how hard it would be for his people to believe this, because of the great bondage they lay under, and the utter improbability of getting out of that state, brings them in in this 24. verse, objecting thus, Alas, our miseries plead prescription over us, our hope is gone, shall the prey be taken out of the hand of the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered? now our adversaries say, we are a lawful prey, we are prisoners of war, and they can plead right as well as might to bring us under, and now shall we ever be delivered? yes saith the answer of God, even the captive of the mighty shall be delivered, and the prey of the terrible shall be taken out of his hand, for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children, and all flesh shall know that I the Lord am thy Saviour: and in the 51. of Esay after he had promised to consume their enemies as a moth eats a garment, 
Esa. 51. 13, 14.  and that his people should return with the voice of singing unto Zion, he than chides their fear and unbelief, Why fearest thou a worm that shall die, why fearest thou because of the fury of the oppressor, as if he were ready to destroy? and where is the fury of the oppressor? alas it's gone as a puff of wind: then follows, the captive exile hasteneth that he may be loosened, that he may not die in the pit, nor that his bread should fail, he fears lest he should starve or die in his bondage, and therefore makes haste out of it; but God's people shall not need to make such haste, their seasonable deliverance is sure enough; many other Scriptures speak this truth as plainly; But that which I chiefly aim at for clearing this doctrine, is, the discussing of two questions, the one is,  
1. When the Lord uses to do this; 2. How he doth it. For the first, that he will deliver his people from all their oppressors, is not to be doubted, but when the Lord will do it, that is the time that every sad soul 
Quest. 1. When Christ useth to deliver his people.  cries after, How long Lord, holy and true, dost thou not avenge us? or when Lord shall it be? I answer,  
Though it be not for us to search curiously into the times and seasons that the Father keeps in his own bosom, 
Answer to the first.  as you have it in Acts 1. 7. yet the Lord hath left very comfortable prognostics in his Word, whereby we may guess when the time of the deliverance of God's 
He always doth it in the best time.  people from their bondage is even at hand; certainly it will come in the best time, in the fittest time, but when that time doth appropinquate, draws nigh, you shall find it clear in the Word by these three things; the 
And that time may be known to approach.  one is,  
The Lord ordinarily makes that the time of his breaking 
When the rage of his and their enemies is highest.  the power of the enemies of his Church, when they are filled most with rage and fury against the Church, when they breathe out nothing but slaughter, and threatenings against them, blaspheme not only them, but their God, and their profession, and their way, when they are risen up to that height that their sins are full against God, and their rage against God's people, that is the time when the Lord suddenly uses to break out and crush his enemies; I might give you many examples of this in the book of God, take that expression in Jeremiah 30. 17. 
Jer. 30. 17.  for one, the Lord would speedily come to deliver his people, but why? even because they said, This is Zion, whom no man cries for; Zion was then a scorned company, I will therefore (saith he) restore healing to them; therefore would he come, because the enemy said, this is Zion that nobody cares for, every one can tread it under foot; So likewise, Ezek. 25. 3. because the Ammonites said Aha against his Sanctuary, against the Land of Israel and against the house of Judah, when they went into captivity, Behold I will therefore deliver them, &c. and Ezek. 28. 67. because the King of Tyrus had set his heart as the heart of God, therefore God would bring enemies upon him. What need I multiply examples? you shall find it was thus to all the people that ever had God's people under them, go from Egypt, to those of Syria, Palestina, to the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Grecians, the Romans, you shall find in them all, that when their rage was most furious against God's people, then was the time near that God used to break them, and deliver his people from them. Secondly, another time is,  
When the Lord by the threshings of their enemies 
2.  hath purged the chaff out of his people; when the Lord 
When God's people are humbled and seek his face and favour.  hath by delivering his people up into the hands of wicked men wrought in their hearts a spirit of repentance, a spirit of humiliation, a spirit of Prayer, a spirit of looking unto God, the Lord never stays long before he doth deliver them; I beseech you search the Scriptures, and you will find that the morning star is not a more infallible argument of the day, of the sun's approach or rising, than a spirit of humiliation and prayer powered upon God's people, is an argument of their deliverance at hand: The burden of Hadrach, and Damasous, Tyre and Sidon, ruin 
Zath. 9 1. &c.  to them is prophesied of in the 9 of Zachariah, but when should it be? When the eyes of the Tribes are towards the Lord, when God puts it into the hearts of his people to look to God, to humble themselves and seek his favour, the Lord is then at hand, to ruin their enemies and deliver them: So also in the 102. psalm, Vers. 13. Thou 
Psal. 102. 13.  shalt arise and have mercy upon Zion, mark the phrase, Thou shalt arise, it is somewhat akin to that place of Isaiah, where the Lord saith, ask me of things to come, and concerning my sons and daughters command ye me; so the people of God come in, Thou shalt arise and have mercy, why? what makes them so confident? the set time is come, the time of deliverance of Zion is come, even the set time is come; how can they tell that? thy servants mourn over the dust of it, thy servants are compassionate, they pity, they pour out their souls, and mourn to God, and out of this; the Church could set down the conclusion, the set time is come for it, when the Lord hath prepared his people, and humbled them: And then thirdly,  
When he hath broke all other means of deliverance, so that they see no hope or means of help in any other, 
3.  the heart of man cannot think how prone even God's 
And when all hope of deliverance by any other means is cut off.  servants are to rely upon other Crutches besides God, and to catch as sinking men at every twig, and every Bulrush, but when the Lord hath broke all their probabilities, and expectations elsewhere, that there is none shut up, nor none left, than doth the Lord use to come himself & rescue his people, and break those that thought to swallow them up; of this you may please to take two notable instances; the one is a prophecy in Deuteronomy 32. 36. 
Deut. 32. 35.  the Lord had said how he would scatter his people, but (saith he) when he saw, that their strength was all gone, that there was none shut up, nor none left, that is, none to be a help, there were enough of God's people left, but not any one that could work any deliverance for them, what then? then did the Lord repent concerning his servants, and his own arm delivered them; you have it yet rather more clearly in Isaiah 59 16. the words are these, The Lord looked, and there was no man, and wondered that 
Esay 59 16.  there was no intercessor, the Lord could find none that could speak for them, none that could act for them, when God saw that, than his own arm will do it, he then put on his mercy and goodness, and arrayed himself with his zeal like a robe, and his own arm did it; that they might fear the name of God from the rising of the sun to the setting of it: and that is the reason why the Lord uses to come in at such a time, because he hath the more glory. This for the time, when God uses to break the yokes of his people that lie upon them, when the enemies are at highest, when he hath humbled and prepared his people, and when all other helps do fail them, than the Lord doth it: But then in the next place,  
How doth he do it? after what manner doth he use to deliver them? 
Quest. 2. How, and after what manner doth God use to deliver his people.   
I answer first in general:  
Which way soever the Lord doth it, all ways are alike easy to him; alike easy for him to contrive; alike easy for him to use his infinite wisdom, and his infinite 
Resp. 1. All ways are alike easy to him.  power knows no degrees of ease or strength in any way, all are alike to him; It is all one to him to save by many or to save by few. Secondly, I answer,  
That when the Lord comes to deliver his people, he seldom doth it that way that his people expect, seldom 
Resp. 2. He seldom delivers in that way his people expect it.  walks in the paths that we have causeyed for him, or by the line that we have chalked out for his direction; seldom or never doth God take that way: We are prone to deal with God as Naaman did, when the Prophet had sent for him to cure, that he and his master might know there was a God in Israel who knew how to cure him of his leprosy; Naaman believed it, but he had fancied by the way how it should be done: Now (saith he) I shall find a Cure; and he will surely come out to me, and strike his hand over the place, and stand and call on the name of God, and so I shall see a miraculous work wrought upon me; the Prophet went clean another way; and because the Prophet did not come out, and take that way he thought of, he went away in a rage, and thought there was no cure for him: So verily most people deal with God; we think this is the way how our deliverance must come, by such a Parliament, by such an Army, by such a design, by such an association, by such and the other way, here it must come, if this way fail, we think all is lost, and God seldom goes the way we have chalked out; study you the Scriptures and you will find it: But yet if positively you'll know what way he doth it; I answer more particularly:  
Very frequently by his own immediate hand, without 
Resp. 3. Esay 63. 4 He usually delivers his Church without any human help.  the help of any other; he alone trod out the winepress of the wrath of God, and there was none of the people with him to help him, but doth all himself, so my Text saith in the next verse, The battle of the warriors, &c. if other Nations conquer, they do it by garments rolled in blood, and by confused noise, but this shall be by burning and by fuel of fire by God's own hand; Or which is all one,  
He ordinarily doth it by most unlikely and contemptible 
Resp. 4. Or which is all one, by unlikely means and instruments,  means, he will not always work Miracles, that is to do a thing without any means at all; but in the deliverance of his Church, he always works miranda, marvelous things, by doing it by such means as are altogether improbable and unsuitable to the great things that are to be done by him. This instance of my Text is a most notable proof, He will break every yoke of the oppressor, as in the day of Midian; how was that? you may read the Story in the 17 of judges: the way was this, there was such a numerous and mighty Army of the Midianites, that the text saith, they lay like grasshoppers, and covered over all the country; the Lord meant to destroy them and Gideon must go with 300 men, and these 300 men must every one carry a pitcher, and a lamp therein in one hand, and a trumpet in another hand, and compass in this mighty Company, every one at his post, and blow with the trumpet, and not strike a stroke, but cry, The sword of the Lord and Gideon; and this routs and destroys an invincible Army. As in the day of Midian, saith the Lord, so will Jesus Christ, that is, by some unlikely means: And give me leave to say confidently, That whosoever reads the book of God from one end to the other, will find that most of all the deliverances which the Lord hath given his Church, have been by people that have been most unlike to do their business; A shepherd shall bring Israel out of Egypt; Rams horns shall blow down the Walls of Jericho: A shepherd's boy with a sling and a stone in it, shall overthrow Goliath; the Israelites like two little flocks of Kids shall overthrow the Assyrians, that fill all the country, thus hath the Lord used to do it: If you'll know the reason of this manner of proceeding as well as of the time when he doth it, 
Reason. Because in this way of working God appears most like himself.  it is,  
Because than he appears like himself; the truth is, let God do it by never such probable means, it is God that works all; God did no more when he destroyed the Midianites by Gideon's 300. then he did when he destroyed 
2 Chron. 13. 13.  the Army of the Israelites, with 400000. of the Tribes of Judah and Benjamin, God did no more in the one then in the other, for it is God who works all in all, but God doth not so much appear, for we that are thick sighted can see what the creature doth, but we cannot see that this creature is in God's hand, and that it is God that doth all; but now when the Lord uses means which are altogether unlike to attain it, and are wholly unfit for the work then to do it, all say this was digitus Dei, this was the Lord's doing; now the Lord saith, when there was none to speak, than his own arm did it, that God's name might have the praise from the rising of the sun to the setting of it: these things I might have prosecuted further; give me leave to wind it all up with an Application, and I shall dismiss you; and there are but two uses, which I intend of this Lesson, the one is, First,  
A word or two of admonition to enemies, if there should be any such here, that are ill-willers to the Church 
use. Admonition to them who have ill will at Zion.  and people of God that love not Christ's cause in the hands of his servants, who wish ill to it, who are glad when power and strength comes into the hands of those that would, or are likely to oppress God's people, and as far as they can are contributing their power towards such designs; let me tell thee who ever thou art, Thou wilt wholly be frustrate of thy expectation, flatter not yourselves, O ye malignant spirits, if any such hear me this day, I say again flatter not yourselves with any thought that you shall be able to do any great matters against the servants of Christ, your plots will all come to nothing; I will tell you a story, you shall find it in 2 Chron. 28. the Church malignant, I mean the Church 
2 Chron. 28.  of the ten Tribes, (who had made apostasy under Jeroboam) had rallied a mighty Army together, and went against the true Church of Christ, against Judah, and they got the day, and carried away 200000. of their brethren, whom they made account to keep or sell for slaves, and so keep them in bondage, and now they thought all was their own, there comes a Prophet and meets them, who tells them from God, With a rage that reacheth unto heaven, you have slain many of your brethren, and now you think to keep the people of Judah under, it will not be (saith he) there are sins amongst you, great is the wrath of God that is kindled against you, let them go home again, meddle not with them: and truly though the people were nought, they took the prophet's counsel, they saw it would be in vain for them to kick against the prick; so I say, it may be there may be some such here, for I can hear of strange insultings and threatenings in the mouths and tongues of many against those whom they think shortly to have under their feet, but do not flatter yourselves, the people of God are too heavy a stone for you to carry far; I will make (saith 
Zach. 12. 3.  the Lord in the 12. of Zachariah) Jerusalem a burdensome stone, for all people that burden themselves with it shall be broken in pieces, though all the nations of the earth should be gathered together against it, the people of God will be too heavy a weight for them: in the same place he speaks to them that thought to drink their blood, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about; you cannot hurt them, you may be God's flail to thresh out their chaff, be a means to purge and winnow them (which they will have cause to thank God for,) but for you to think to oppress them long, that the rod of the wicked shall remain or rest upon the neck of them that fear God, it cannot be, you'll ruin yourselves in the design; be wise therefore and leave it off; but I forbear, for such ordinarily are more filled with fury and rage against that that is spoken in this kind, then willing to profit by it, and therefore my next use is,  
To them that will profit by it, and whom I hope the 
use 2.  Lord will teach to profit by it, to all those that have sincerely owned Christ and his cause amongst us, I would speak somewhat to them, the Lord grant I may speak effectually, I am sure it is a word in season, you who are the 
Exhortation God's people not to be disheartened by the threatenings of ●●em●es.  Lord's people, that are in Covenant with him, who desire to know & fear him, and to see the welfare and prosperity of Zion, the thing I would leave with you is this, lay not to heart overmuch the dangers you seem to be in for the present, from the hands of those who would destroy you, lay it not (I say) so far to heart as to be dismayed: I confess it is as arrows in the hearts, and Swords in the bowels of many, to hear the extreme threatenings and scorns which in many places are cast upon those that desire to fear God, they are often told, You are not far from hanging, you must shortly look for it, England will be too hot for 
And to walk so as to be under the shelter of this doctrine  you, your doors are marked, you are known well enough, the day is coming, you'll be caught ere long, what of all that? which if these things be belched out? I confess if our lives were in the hands of men, if the Lord would deliver us up to them to do what they would, and put us out of his hand, I believe there would not be a godly man left before to morrow night, so much rage and fury is throughout the Land against them, if Satan might have the ruling of the roast, and the determination of businesses; but truly the servants of God are never nearer to deliverance, than when such threats lie upon them, and the Lord Jesus Christ being the same yesterday, to day, and for ever, knows his own best time, and his own best way, and we should fix our eyes upon him, when all other things go cross, and study only to walk so as we may be under the power of this doctrine, that we may be under the reach, and cover and wings of it, and when we have done that, we have done all we should do; and therefore to this end, give me leave in this close of the Sermon, to give a threefold advice to God's people, what they should now do in regard of the present straits 
Directions how this may be done.  and dangers that we are cast in, that so we may the more comfortably expect deliverance from Christ: the one is,  
Let us all (in the first place) take the counsel of the 
1.  Prophet in Jeremiah 8. 14. when the Lord was giving up 
First, be humbled and ashamed for our unworthy walking in the midst of so many wonderful administrations towards us. Jen. 8▪ 14.  his people to most woeful spoils, the Prophet speaks to them after this manner, Why do you sit still? assemble yourselves, and let us enter into the defenced Cities, and let us be silent there, for the Lord our God hath put us to silence and given you the water of gall and wormeword to drink; for we have sinned against God; so I would say to all, O that the voice of God in this could reach his servants in the Parliament, in the Court of Aldermen, in the common-council, in the city, and throughout England, that it might prevail with all that have been unfeignedly devoted to this work, to get into their closets, to lay their hand upon their mouth, and weep before God, and say, This cup of gall and bitterness is given us to drink because we have sinned against God, my meaning plainly is this, I think the servants of God in England, since the Gospel came into England, have never miscarried, nor dishonoured the Gospel so, as we have done since God hath wrought these enlargements for us; surely we walked 100 times better in the days of persecution, than we have in the midst of our enlargement; O to what abundance of looseness even good people are come, what pride in many of their hearts, what scandalous walking in the eyes of those that are enemies to Religion, what bitter divisions one against another, undermining one another, opposing one another, when one side gets power striving to beat down the other, if the other get the ball, they kick as unmercifully against the other, even to the scorn of Religion: truly we have even lost ourselves; our foolish walking hath took off the awe that the profession of Religion laid upon the hearts of wicked men, who heretofore though they did not love goodness, yet they saw such a conversation in those that were good, that it laid a bridle upon them, but now they see that many godly, or who at least pretend to be godly, appear so selfish, so bitter, so worldly, not only to be of differing minds, but of differing affections, falling into horrible rents, and abominable opinions, this I say, hath took off the awe that lay upon men's consciences, and therefore is there so much rage let out against us; I desire therefore that we all that profess ourselves to be Christ's servants may get ourselves into our Closets, and be silent, lay our hands upon our mouths, and say, It is most just with God we should be given up, we had a little power and we have abused it, we have dishonoured the Gospel, and now the Lord hath given us the water of Gall and wormwood to drink, because our fins have called for it. Beloved, our adversaries can speak of these things, and it is good for you to hear of it from the Ministers mouth, for when we lie low and submit, and say, God hath walked contrary to us, because we have walked contrary to him, than the Lord will quickly turn things about, and be gracious to us: that is one; let the servants of God wherein they have miscarried be sensible of it, humbled and abased for it in God's sight; And secondly,  
Let our conversation for the time to come, be according 
2.  to the principles and ways that we walked in the 
To walk according to our first good principles and ways.  beginning of this work, when we were first engaged in it; In the beginning of our work, what were our principles? what were the things we aimed at then? Did we not then aim at the reformation of Religion, execution of justice, enjoyment of liberty, &c. were not these the hinges that carried us? and the ways wherein we walked then, what were they? Were they not the ways of Prayer, and the ways of Christian love, and a spirit of zeal? Was there not a spirit of prayer mightily poured out in every corner of the Land, so that you could come nowhere, where there were any that feared God, but frequently in public and private there was knocking at heaven gate, and wrestling with God? and was there not a spirit of Love amongst God's people then? We know not the divisions and animosities that are come in since, every one helped together; and was there not also a spirit of Activity? Were they not all vigorous and active laying out all their strength and all their talents, when the enemy was not so active as now? which diligence many have given over, and the enemy hath taken up; now let us endeavour that the same spirit may be revived amongst God's people for the time to come, let us remember our engagements, and what the things were we vowed, when we lifted up our hands to the most high God, and do our first works; O that we could see a restoring of these things, O that we could see a restoring of the Spirit of prayer again among the godly people of England, and a Spirit of love to unite one with another, (I am sure we see all our enemies unite against us) O that they would now unite one with another, though they cannot be all of one mind, yet of one heart, bearing one another's infirmities, endeavouring to heal all that is sinful in each other; O that the spirit of zeal to promote the cause we are engaged in, might once more be found amongst us, that we might with Abishai and Joab play the men and bestir ourselves, and let God do what is good in his own eyes: let that be our second care, remember our first principles, and our first ways; And then thirdly, and lastly,  
With lamenting and bemoaning our failings, and with 
3.  our recovering our first love, and our first ways, let us 
With confidence expect a good issue from God.  quietly leave it to God, to do what he will; O that God would once bring his servants to this pass, never to look for any great good from man, nor never to fear any great evil from man, neither good from the best of men, nor evil from the worst of men, but to resolve that the Lord can and will himself do his own work, and were there not left in London, in England, in all three kingdoms any one of power to stand for the cause of God, were all swallowed up, yet let us conclude the fire of God will burn up all the briars and thorns that are risen up against the Lord's vineyard; were our Armies all lost, were our friends all gone (as indeed we are come to a very low ebb) yet is our deliverance never the further off, therefore hold up your confidence; indeed if we were engaged in an ill cause we ought to give it over to repent of it openly, and take shame to ourselves; if we have done ill, to stand for reformation, contend for our liberties, to contend to be a free people, if this were sinful let us be humbled, and tell all the world of it, but if it be right, it's not the falling away of this man or that man, or the revolting of this or tother Ship, or Castle, or this party or that party, all this is nothing, if God turn but his face against them they are all gone; Brethren, let me speak truly of it, it is thus in Scotland at this day, the godly party, they that are for the Covenant and Religion; though they are overborne with an Army, a degenerate party risen up against them, who threaten to swallow up all, and have plundered and wasted the estates and goods of them who will not join with them in this sinful and wicked engagement, yet they hold one and cleave to their old rules and principles, and confidently expect deliverance; the Lord teach us to do the like, that as we meet this day to praise God for his mercies and deliverances lately received, a whole catalogue whereof were now read unto you, so to resolve it for the time to come to seek him in his own way, we to do what we can, and with faith leave him to do what he will.  
FINIS.