SER M. loves them that do.

X.

To do that we do,

cheerfully.

The very first thing that in the very next verse He finds fault with and charges them with, is this: when men are for or against a thing, be it what it will be, and neither for itself, but only because it proceeds from such or such persons, neither of these is in medio. Idipsum, that is the centre, that the middle, that place is God's place. To go to the point, drive all to that; as also to go to the matter real, without declining from it this way or that, to the right hand or to the left, for any personal regard.

And last of all, that which pleaseth Him best of all; and that is, where He finds a ready well-willing mind, His heart is upon such. And where His heart is, ever His feet stand at ease; Calcat rosas, 'He treads upon roses' there. In the Song of Deborah it is thought there is set down a pattern of the virtues or faults of an assembly. In that Song there are two Hallelujahs, two Benedicites for it. First, at the very Judg. 5. 2. beginning, "Hallelujah, praise the Lord." Why? for the "people" that came off, and "offered themselves" so "willingly." Judg. 5.9. And again seven verses after, "My heart is upon the governors that offered themselves," and made the people to offer so willingly, "Hallelujah, praise the Lord." Hallelujah for the princes, Hallelujah for the people; blessed be God for both.

Judg.5.23, 24.

And readily.

Ps. 120. 5.

Then have you again after those, two verses together; in the one Meroz cursed for their backwardness, and Jael for her forwardness blessed and blessed again. For this indeed is the marrow of the sacrifice, the fat of the offering; and without this all is poor and lean.

This is sure, God loves not to dwell in Mesech; that is interpreted, prolongatus est. And His Son calling on Serve Mat. 25.26. nequam et piger, shews He loves piger as evil as He does педиат. And His Spirit cannot skill of these same tarda molimina. In a word, none of them to be wearied with standing I know not how long.

And see the very next word of all, the next that follows [Ps. 82.2.] these immediately is, "How long?" So He begins His complaint the first word of the next verse, which shews He loves it not.

Not that He can be weary. It is an infirmity that, and so is grief, and so is repentance, and they cannot fall into God; they are attributed to Him though. And God is said as to

Jer. 6. 11.

repent and to be grieved, so to be stark "weary," in no other Gen. 6. 6. sense but this, that if He be not weary no thanks to us; for Eph. 4. 30. if it were possible, if the divine nature were or could be subject to it, if God could be weary, if "His feet" were not "of brass," Rev. 1. 15. we would put Him to it; we do even what in us lieth to tire Him outright, to make Him cry, Usquequo, “How long?"

But, 1. where there is accord without "Reuben's divisions;" 2. where plain meaning and dealing without, as Esay calls Isa. 29. 15. them, these same deep-digged devices; 3. where the eye is upon idipsum, and no ipsum else; 4. where God is not constrained to dwell in Mesech, but the people and their governors offer willingly; there stands God, and there will He ever stand. Of that place He saith, Hæc est requies mea, "This is Ps. 132. 14. My rest, here will I stay, for I have a delight therein."

Thus doing then, thus procuring, our assembly thus qualified, we perform our duty to God and to His standing. And this done we shall never need to fear judicabit, come when it will.

And now to conclude. Mine unfeigned hearty prayer to God is, and daily shall be, that if ever in any, He would stand in this congregation; and if ever any used the means so to procure Him, we may use them. The rather that ecclesia To have malignantium, "the malignant synagogue" may not ask with what will derision, Where was then their God? Where stood He? be said Behind the wall sure, not in the assembly; such proceedings Ps. 26. 5. [Ps. 42. 3, and His standing will never stand together.

regard

abroad.

io.]

25.

But rather that all may say, Verily God was among them, of a truth God stood in that congregation, where with so 1 Cor. 14. good accord so good things so readily were passed. Christ was in the midst of them, His Holy Spirit rested on them. Yet I know, what men say off or on is not it; what God saith, that is all in all. To men we do not, to God we stand or fall, Whose judicabit we cannot escape either the one way or the other; but have a judicabit for us that we may, if we yield His standing all due respect, even Euge serve bone, intra in Mat. 25. 23. gaudium Domini, which in the end will be worth all.

But if any shall say, O the time is long to that-peradventure not so long though as we reckon-well yet in the mean time, now for the present, it stands us in hand to use Him well, and ourselves well to Him. For if He stand not to us we

SERM. shall not subsist, we shall not stand but fall before our enemies. This time is now, this danger is at hand.

X.

To have regard of

our present use of Him against our

Use Him well then; stand before Him thus standing, with all due reverence and regard; that as by His presence He doth stand among us, so He may not only do that, but by His enemies. mercy also stand by us, and by His power stand for us. So shall we stand and withstand all the adverse forces, and at last (for thither at last we must all come) stand in His judgment, stand there upright; to our comfort, for the present, of His standing by us, and to our endless comfort, for the time to come, of His judging for usa.

[The King's speech at the opening of this Parliament, together with the proceedings of the two houses, may be

seen in Rapin, ii. 202-212. Fol. 1743.]

A SERMON

PREACHED

AT CHISWICK IN THE TIME OF PESTILENCE.

ON THE TWENTY-FIRST OF AUGUST, A.D. MDCIII.

Ps. cvi. 29, 30.

Thus they provoked Him to anger with their own inventions, and the Plague was great (or, brake in) among them.

Then stood up Phinehas and prayed, (or, executed judgment) and so the Plague was ceased. (or, stayed.)

[Et irritaverunt Eum in adinventionibus suis, et multiplicata est in eis Ruina.

Et stetit Phinees et placavit, et cessavit Quassatio. Lat. Vulg.]

[Thus they provoked Him to anger with their inventions, and the Plague brake in upon them.

Then stood up Phinehas and executed judgment, and so the Plague was stayed. Eng. Trans.]

THERE is mention of a Plague, of a great Plague, for there died of it "four and twenty thousand." And we complain of Nu. 25. 9. a Plague at this time. The same axe is laid to the root of our

trees. Or rather, because an axe is long in cutting down of one tree, the "razor is hired" for us, that sweeps away a great Isa. 7. 20. number of hairs at once-as Esay calleth it—or a scythe that mows down grass, a great deal at once.

But here is not only mention of the breaking in of the Plague in the twenty-ninth verse, but of the staying or ceasing of the Plague in the thirtieth.

Now "whatsoever things were written aforetime, were Rom. 15. 4. written for our learning;" and so was this text. Under one to teach us how the Plague comes, and how it may be stayed.

SERM.
XI.

The divi

sion.

I.

II.

The Plague is a disease. In every disease we consider the cause and the cure: both which are here set forth unto us in these two verses. In the former the cause, how it comes.

In the latter the cure, how it may be stayed. To know the cause is expedient, for if we know it not our cure will be but palliative, as not going to the right. And if knowing the cause we add not the cure when we are taught it, who will pity us? For none is then to blame but ourselves.

Of the cause first, and then of the cure. The cause is set down to be twofold; 1. God's anger, and 2. their inventions. God's anger by the which, and their inventions for the which, "the Plague brake in among them."

The cure is likewise set down; and it is twofold, out of two significations of one word, the word palal in the verse. "Phinehas prayed," some read it; "Phinehas executed judgment," some other; and the word bears both. Two then, 1. Phinchas' prayer, one; 2. Phinehas' executing judgment, the other; by both which "the Plague ceased." His prayer referring to God's anger, his executing judgment to their inventions. God's wrath was appeased by his prayer: prayer refers to that. Their inventions were removed by his executing of judgment: the execution of judgment refers to that. Ps. 99. 8. If His anger provoked do send the Plague, His anger appeased will stay it. If our inventions provoke His anger, the punishing of our inventions will appease it. The one worketh upon God, pacifieth Him; the other worketh upon our soul, and cures it. For there is a cure of the soul no less than of Ps. 41. 4. the body, as appeareth by the Psalm, "Heal my soul, for I have sinned against Thee."

Of the cause.

A cause

there is.

31.

We are to begin with the cause of the Plague in the first verse, and so to come to the cure in the second.

Of the cause. 1. First, that there is a cause; 2. and secondly, what that cause may be.

1. That there is a cause, that is, that the Plague is a thing causal, not casual; comes not merely by chance but hath somewhat, some cause that procureth it.

Mat. 10. 29, Sure if a sparrow "fall not to the ground" without the providence of God, of which "two are sold for a farthing," much less doth any man or woman, which are many sparrows."

66 more worth than