Commentary on Numbers

It remaineth to make use and application of this Doctrine. First, it is a great comfort to the Church, to consider how God is mindful of us in our distresses, he doth not forget our afflictions: he seeth the injuries that are offered unto us, as he surely saw the trouble of his people in Egypt; and therefore we ought not to sink down in our miseries. No chastising indeed for the present time, seemeth to be joyous, but grievous; but afterward it bringeth the quiet fruit of righteousness to them that are thereby exercised: Heb. 12, 11. So that in the midst of them we must rejoice, Knowing that tribulation bringeth forth patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope; and hope maketh not ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the holy Ghost which is given unto us. Rom. 5, 3, 4, 5. Albeit he make us run through fire and water, he will in the ende bring us to a sweet place of rest. Let us not therefore be dismayed for tribulation, all that will live godly in Christ Jesus must suffer persecution. Let us not be ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, Which is the power of God to salvation unto all that believe. Let us wait for the day of our deliverance, assuring our selves, that albeit the enemies of God's people and Religion band themselves and assemble together against the Lord, and against his Christ, yet in the end he shall crush them with a Scepter of Iron, and break them in pieces like a Potters vessel, & not leave so great iniquity unpunished. Thus doth Moses comfort the people, Exod. 14. Fear ye not, stand still, and behold the salvation of the Lord which he will show to you this day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen this day, ye shall never see them again: the Lord will fight for you, therefore hold you your peace. He will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and will get him honor upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, and upon all his Chariots, and upon his Horsemen, to show his power in thē, and to declare his Name throughout all the world. Thus doth God comfort Abraham, Gen. 15, by foretelling that the same Nation which should deal so churlishly and cruelly with his posterity, should not always escape unpunished, but in the end he would recompense them according to their deserts: Know for a surety, that thy seed shall be a Stranger in a Land that is not theirs, four hundredth years and shall serve thē, and they shall entreat thē evil: notwithstanding, the Nation whom they shall serve, I will judge, and afterward shall they come forth with great substance. Gen. 15, 13, 14. As if the Lord should have said unto him, I would not have thee dismayed and discouraged (O Abraham ) by these heavy tidings which I have told thee, that thy children shall be strangers in a strange Land, and not only strangers, but be made servants and bondslaves, and not only made slaves, but be evilly and despitefully handled: (thus God by a Rhetorical Gradation seemeth to augment his sorrows) rather I would have thee strengthen thy faith against this temptation, & comfort thy heart with this cogitation, that I will in the end punish that barbarous Nation, and bring upon it all those evils which it hath brought upon thy posterity, when they have filled to the full the measure of their sins. The truth of this promise is set down in y ^e book of Exodus, from the seventh chapter to the fifteenth, which we may read, and in reading consider, that God is true in all his promises and Prophesies, and will accomplish whatsoever he hath spoken for the confusion and destruction of his enemies. Let us therefore comfort our selves, and comfort one another in these things, that God will arise, and his enemies shall be scattered.

Secondly, let us refrain anger and revenge [Use 2] toward such as deal evilly with us. It is the nature of flesh and blood to rise in choler, to desire revenge, and not to put up wrongs and injuries. We must be more then a lump of flesh, if we will be the children of God. We see that Stephen, when he was stoned, prayed for his persecutors, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. Acts 7, 60. The like we see in Christ our Savior toward those that crucified him The consideration of this truth, that God reserveth wrath for his enemies, and taketh vengeance on his adversaries, will help to redress and repress our corrupt affections, and make us able to prevail over them, and to withstand them. Let us not recompense like for like: let us not measure evil for evil: let us do good against evil, committing our cases and causes to that just Judge, that always judgeth uprightly. Therefore the Prophet ascribeth this Title as peculiar to God to right and revenge the quarrels of his Children, Psal. 94, 1, 2. O Lord God the avenger, O God the avenger, show thyself clearly: exalt thyself, O Judge of the world, and render a reward to the proud. It is the proper Office of God to take vengeance on the wicked and ungodly. Wherefore the Apostle exhorteth the church, Rom. 12, 17, 19, to recompense to no man evil for evil, Dearely beloved, avenge not yourselves, but give place unto wrath: for it is written Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord So the Apostle John, after the foretelling o • troubles and persecutions, addeth, Here is the patience of the Saints, declaring thereby, what our armor, and what our weapons of defense are, to give us victory over our enemies. Let these things stay us in our afflictions, from breaking out into impatiency of spirit, and from returning wrong for wrong; albeit the unfaithful rise up against us, & the Drunkards make songs of us, and we suffer reproof and reproach for the Gospels sake: yet he, whose cause it is, will not suffer the water-floods to drown us, neither let the deep • swallow us up▪ nor let the pit shut her mouth upon us.

Thirdly, it is the duty of his people to praise • [Use 3] him greatly, when he avengeth the cause o • his Children. When they see the wicked punished, and those that forget God taken 〈◊〉 the snare of their own hands, let them rejoice and be glad, and give unto God the glory due unto his name. This practice we have in the Prophet, Ps. 136, 1. speaking of the overthrow of Pharaoh in the red sea, and remembering the slaughter of sundry mighty Kings, yea, even the names of those which we now speak of: he provoketh the people by a most earnest exhortation to give thanks unto God for their destruction, Praise ye the Lord, because he is good, for his mercy endureth forever. Hereunto cometh the prayer of the Israelites, enduring the bitter scorns and reproachful taunts of most malicious enemies in the days of their captivity, who as they demanded an heavy curse against those Edomites, so they pronounced a blessing upon them that shall vex and trouble them. This appeareth evidently in Ester 9, 17. when the Church of God saw a great work wr • ught for them, their enemies destroyed and themselves delivered, they rejoiced with an exceeding great joy, and kept a feast in remembrance of their deliverance. It is not cruelty to rejoice at the destruction of God's enemies, and to magnify his most great name for it. This the Apostle John teacheth, Reu. 19, 1.2, 3, 4, 5. where the heavenly companies of Angels and blessed souls set forth their gladness and triumph, that God had judged the enemies of his people. So chap. 18. v, 20. O heaven rejoice of her, and ye holy Apostles and Prophets: for God hath punished her, to be avenged on her for your sakes. The innocent blood of the patient martyrs so cruelly murdered, crieth out for vengeance in the ears of the Lord of hosts, as the blood of righteous Abel, and shall not the Judge of all the world do right? It is his office to render into the bosom of his adversaries seven fold. Now▪ as it is our duty earnestly to desire the accomplishment of his judgments, so when they are performed (as surely they will come and not tarry) we must glorify his blessed name, with all rejoicing that we can conceive and express.

Lastly, this serveth to be a terror to the ungodly, [Use 4] when this Doctrine shall sound in their ears, that God will judge the wicked for persecuting the members of Christ Jesus. If they escape in this world, the Lord reserveth them for greater judgment. When the Lord Jesus cometh with thousands of his Angels, he will render vengeance unto them in flaming fire, and punish them with everlasting perdition from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power. This the Prophet assureth. Isaiah 8, 9, 10, 14. & 17, 11, 12, 13, 14. where by an Ironicall insulting, he setteth down the ruin of the enemies of the Church, who albeit their rage be restless, and their malice endless, yet they shall not stand, and their counsels shall come • o nothing: they do fight against God, and against his son Christ Jesus, who is the inuin • ible Rock whereon the Church is built, • gainst which the gates of hell shall not be • ble to prevail, So that whosoever shall fall on this stone, he shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will dash him in pieces, Mat. 21. Thus shall all the ungodly be scattered as chaff before the wind, and swept away as dung in the just judgment of God. So let all thine Enemies perish, O Lord: but they that love him shall be as the Sun when he riseth in his might, Judge. 5, 31.

[Verse 21.22. Let me go through thy Land: We will not turn aside into the Fields, nor into the Vineyards, &c. ] Here Moses setteth down another danger of the Israelites, greater then the former remembered in the former chapter. Thus one trouble followeth in the neck of another, As one deep calleth to another deep by the noise of his water spouts, Psal. 42, 7. We see here again, how Israel is driven to the same exigent they were before. After they have compassed the land of Edom, they come to the Amorites, and crave of them some help and compassion. They seek comfort and an end of their sorrows, at the hands of Sihon a wretched Idolater, an enemy of God, and of his people. Thus low are the people of God oftentimes brought, to stand in need of the favor of the ungodly, as we have shown in the former chapter. Furthermore, Moses assureth before hand what their behavior shall be, and promiseth to abstain from all hurt & wrong. From hence we learn this doctrine, That the people of God must abstain from all violent encroaching upon the goods and possessions of others: they must not intrude them selves upon their goods and substance, they must keep their hands from robbing and stealing, and their hearts from coveting and desiring that which is another's, and not their own: they must not take of all that is another man's, so much as a thread or shoo-latchet to enrich themselves. Hereunto come the laws given of God unto his people, Exodus 22, 1. If a man steal an Ox, or a Sheep, if a man hurt his neighbors field, or Vineyard, his Corn or Pasture, he shall make recompense of the best of his own Fielde, or Vineyard, or Corn, or Pasture. Likewise in Deut. 19, 14. Moses chargeth them not to remove their neighbors mark, which they of old time have set in their inheritance, that they might peaceably inherit the Land which God had mercifully given unto them. This Christ teacheth the young man in the Gospel, Mark 10, 19. Thou shalt hurt no man, meaning by force or fraud, or by any other mean whatsoever in his goods. Thus John the Baptist instructeth the soldiers that came unto his baptism, demanding what they should do, Luke 3. verses 13, 14. Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely, and be content with your Wages. And hereunto cometh the general rule, being the law of Nature and Nations, Matth. 7, verse 12. Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, even so do ye to them, for this is the Law & the Prophets.

The reasons of this doctrine are many. First, in respect of God, who is an avenger of all such dealings. Oftentimes it falleth out, that men cannot right their own causes, and Magistrates to whom they should fly, will not. For who are they that for the most part lie open to violence and oppression, but the poor and fatherless, the widow and stranger, and such as are destitute of friends to help them in their good and lawful causes? But God, both can right the causes of such distressed persons, because he is Almighty; and he will remedy them, because he is merciful. He is God of God's, and Lord of Lord's, a great God, mighty and terrible, which accepteth no persons, nor taketh reward, Who doth right unto the Fatherless and Widow, and loveth the stranger, giving him food and raiment, Deut. 10, ver. 17, 18. This reason the Apostle urgeth, 1 Thess. 4, 6. To this purpose Moses speaketh, Exod. 22, 21, 22, 23, 24. So the Lord threateneth in the Prophet Habbakkuk, chap. 2. This ought to prevail with us, to teach us equity, forasmuch as GOD threateneth to be revenged of all iniquity.

[Reason 2] Again, God is the God of righteousness and judgment, therefore he commandeth and commendeth unto his people that which is just and equal, and forbiddeth them the contrary. He hath the Sovereign right of all things in his own hand, and hath in most excellent wisdom distributed and disposed to every man his several portion. If this then be the nature of God to deal justly and righteously toward everyone, that no man can cōplain of wrong and injury done of God toward him: then such as are the Children of God, must resemble their heavenly Father in doing the works of righteousness and equity. This the Prophet in many places teacheth, Thou art not a God that loveth wickedness, neither shall evil dwell with thee: the foolish shall not stand in thy sight, for thou hatest all them that work iniquity. Seeing therefore God loveth righteousness & hateth wickedness, he must needs detest and abhor whatsoever is contrary to his nature; to wit, all unrighteousness and injustice.

[Reason 3] Thirdly, we are brethren, we pr fesse the same faith, we worship the same God, we look for the same inheritance, we are sealed with the same baptism, we are nourished at the same Table, we live by the same faith, we wait for a better life by the same hope; and therefore being called with such an heavenly calling, oppression and deceit stand not with our holy profession, as Moses speaketh to the Israelites, when it came in his heart to visit his brethren, to join himself to the Church, and to forsake the treasures and pleasures of Egypt, Exod. 2, 13. Sirs, ye are brethren, why do ye wrong one another? This is the reason that Abraham used to Lot, to take up the contention begun among their servants, as it were a fire kindled in their houses, threatening to consume them with the Timber thereof, & stones thereof, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between thee and me, neither between thy Heard-men, and my Heard-men, for we are brethren. Gen. 13, verse 8.

Let us see what may be the uses and applications [Use 1] of this point. First, all community, maintained by the Anabaptists, and Family of love, is overthrown, (being contrary to the direct Law of God.) To possess goods in private as proper to one, is approved by the examples of the Christian Churches planted by the Apostles: and therefore to hold and teach, that nothing doeth, or ought peculiarly and properly to belong unto another, is reproved and rejected by the doctrine of the Apostles. The eight Commandment being moral and perpetual, forbiddeth us to hurt and annoy our neighbors goods, and establisheth a distinction of goods and a propriety of possessions. They are therefore greatly and grossly deceived, and do notoriously deceive others, that imagine the difference and distinction of lands and goods, to be brought in by tyranny, not by law; by violence, not by justice; by force and fear, not by right and reason; because as children of the same Father have the same right and interest in the goods of their Father: so all men have equal right and jurisdiction in the earth, and in all things that are upon the face of the earth: and for this cause they suppose all things common, & nothing proper by the Law of God. But this opinion falleth to the ground, [Answer.] and shall fall so long as the Commandment standeth in full force, strength, and virtue, as a Bond and Obligation that bindeth us and our posterity forever. For if all were a Commons, and nothing enclosed, if the hedge of propriety were pulled up, and all lay wide and waste as a Wilderness without inclosure; then there could be no stealing, no injury or wrong offered, every man should take his own by his own right: and God should forbid that by Law which cannot be committed. As if a Law were made, that man should not fly in the air, nor climb up into Heaven, nor walk upon his head, nor be in many places at once, which things are impossible to human Nature. But God forbiddeth nothing in vain.

Again, if propriety of goods were not ordained of God, but devised of man, God by precept and commandment should establish and confirm the violence and usurpation of men, and as it were give them a free Charter, and his broad Seal to have and to hold all goods wrongfully gotten, as if a Prince should make a Law, that whatsoever thieves & robbers catch by hook or crook, they shall possess them by a good and rightful title: then which what can be thought more unreasonable, or spoken more absurdly? Besides, what need were there to set bounds and marks in Lands and possessions? And wherefor are they accursed of God and men, that remove ancient bounds and marks, if there were no propriety? Now where theft is restrained, where wrong is condemned, where abstaining from the goods of others is required, there is a difference supposed between thine and mine.

Moreover, there could be no giving, nor buying, nor bargaining, nor selling, nor hyring, nor lending, if all things were left to the wide world, to be catched and snatched according to the lust and pleasure of every man: in all which notwithstanding, God by special Commandments tieth up and restraineth the gripings and greediness of covetous men. For if the Corinthians had had all things in common no strife could arise among them of things pertaining to this life: but inasmuch as they wronged one another in these temporal things, and wrangled for them under the Infidels, it is plain, that every man had his own portion distinct from the possession of other men. And the same Apostle, bridling the gaping and greedy desires of men, teacheth, that they that use this world, should be as though they used it not, and they that buy, should be as though they possessed not. 1 Cor. 7, 30, 31. Therefore by this exhortation, buying is allowed, possessing is granted, so that the heart be not set upon the world. This is farther confirmed by sundry precepts of the Apostle, Let him that hath stolen, steal no more, but let him rather labor, and work with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth. Eph. 4, 28. The wise man saith, Prov. 25, 17. Withdraw thy foot from thy neighbors house, lest he be weary of thee, and hate thee. But if all were common, it were lawful to enter everywhere, and use all things at our own pleasure.

Lastly, to what ende and purpose should the word of God strictly command alms-giving, and the works of mercy and charity, if there were no propriety or seueralty, but an equal communion of all worldly goods? So to what ende should the Apostle charge the wealthy in this world to do good with their goods, and those that be rich, to be rich in faith, and in good works, to be ready to give to such as are in need, and to lay up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come? Surely the difference between rich and poor could not stand, between high and low, but all should be shufled together in great confusion, contrary to the order and ordinance of God, who is the God of all order and comliness among the people. Neither let any object the practice of the Primitive Church, [Object.] Acts, chap. 4, 32, & chap. 2, 44, where it is said, The multitude of them that believed were of one heart, and of one soul: neither any of them said, that anything of that which he possessed, was his own, but they had all things common. For there is a double kind of communion, [Answer.] in respect of propriety, and in respect of use. The community in the faithful, stood in y ^e use of these outward things, which they employed for the good of their fellow-members. And therefore albeit some sold their goods and possessions, and parted them according to the necessities of the poor members of Christ, yet the Apostle Peter saith to Ananias, who had sold his possession & kept away part of the price, While it remained, appertained it not to thee? And after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? But how could they sell their goods, if they were not right owners and lawful possessors of them? Neither doth the Text say, that those Christians sold all they had possessed. It is said indeed, As many as were owners of lands and houses, sold, & brought the prices of those things which they sold, and laid it before the Apostles feet. The Scripture showeth, they sold and brought the price of that they sold: but it saith not, they sold all, and then brought the price of all: for it appeareth, that Philip, one of them kept his house still, & entertained the Apostles in the same, and consequently had it furnished for these uses, and fitted to lodge and harbor the godly & faithful brethren.

This community should be in every lively feeling member of Christ, who in the public want of the Church, should be ready and willing to dispossess themselves of somewhat, for the succor & comfort of other members. So then, they are overthrown, which do affirm, that it is unlawful for Christians to have or possess any riches: whereas no man in the Primitive Church was compelled to make his goods common. For Peter plainly avoucheth, that it lay in the power of Ananias, whether he would sell his Land or not: and when he had sold it, the money was his own, so that he might have kept it to himself if he had listed. His sin was, that he pretended to bring the whole price of that which they had sold, whereas they brought a part thereof, & so lied unto God. But God requireth at our hands, that we should give cheerfully, not grudgingly; willingly, not constrainedly, readily, not backwardly.

Secondly, everyone must look that he [Use 2] live in a lawful calling, wherein he must abide, eating his own bread, and laboring y ^e thing that is good. So we shall defraud no man, but deal righteously and justly, and get by lawful means: we must restore again that which hath been unlawfully gotten, and unconscionably detained, though haply hidden from men, so that the world cannot lay it to our charge, yet our own heart knoweth it, and chargeth it upon us, and our conscience will not pass it over, but we must evermore hear of it, and receive a check from it. The crying of an accusing & condemned conscience cannot be stopped, but is as a thousand witnesses against us.

Again, goods wrongfully gotten & kept from the Owner, do cry against us, and do lay bitter accusations to our charge. This the Prophet Habbkkuk teacheth, chap. 2, 9, 10, 11. True it is, the stones have no mouth to cry, neither the timber any feeling to suffer wrong at our hands: but the Scripture useth such manner of speech & form of words, to make us perceive the better, by this vehement raising up of the dumb and senseless creatures, that if we do amiss before GOD, and deal wrongfully with men, the creatures shall bear witness against us, and ask vengeance upon us at the latter day. Therefore he bringeth in the several parts of the house answering one another, and singing one to another: one side crieth out, behold blood: the other, behold murder: the one, behold deceit: the other, behold cruelty. Thus the Apostle James speaketh, chap. 5, 4. Behold, the hire of the Laborers, which have reaped your field (which is of you kept back by fraud) crieth, and the cries of them which have reaped, are entered into the ears of the Lord of hosts. Thus we see, how the creatures abused, do groan to be delivered from the bondage of corruption, & cry out against oppression: the oppressed crieth in the ears of the Lord, and the conscience of the oppressor as an honest Iurate witnesseth against him, and crieth for vengeance. And shall the Lord be deaf, and not hear such great and loud out-cryings of so many distressed and oppressed persons entering into the highest heavens, and piercing the ears of the Lord of hosts? Shall not God avenge his elect which day and night cry unto him, yea, though he suffer long for them? I tell you, he will avenge them quickly, to the comfort of the oppressed, but to the confusion of the oppressor.

[Use 3] Lastly, seeing wrongful dealing must be avoided, it serveth to condemn all inordinate living in no settled or lawful calling, idly, vnthriftily, and prodigally. For every man living in the Church, of what degree or condition soever, must have some particular calling to walk in, how high soever his estate be, how great soever his revenues be: which condemneth the wandering up & down of rogues and beggars, the Cloisters of Monks and Friars, the idleness of rich men that have lands and livings, all such as are Drones, unprofitable to the Church or Common-wealth, or family, wherein they abide. Adam in time of his innocence immediately after his creation in the Image of God, had a special calling appointed him to dress and keep the Garden. It was likewise said to him and his posterity immediately after the fall, In the sweat of thy brows thou shalt eat thy bread, till thou return unto the earth, out of which thou wast taken So the Apostle saith, 2 Thess. 3, 11, 12. Christ Jesus, the head of men and Angels, before the solemn investing and entering into his Office, lived privately in Joseph's house, and wrought in his trade, and therefore it is, that the Jews call him, not only the Carpenters son, but a Carpenter. If then we would settle our selves in a lawful calling, eating our own bread, trusting in the providence of God, contenting our selves with our present estate, thinking it the best and fittest for us, we should keep our selves from oppression & wrong. But because some live without any calling, some without a lawful calling, others live distrustful & discontented, it driveth them to make ungodly shifts, and use unlawful means which God abhorreth. Let us lay these things to our own hearts, and not spend our days in ydlenesse. The time is precious, let us seek to redeem it. Let us every day do some good or other, let us learn some good of others, or be teaching some good thing to others. But alas, how many are there in all places that spend whole days, and months, and years in vanity? who if they would call themselves to an account of their lives past, might see and perceive many days pass over their heads without doing any good, whereof, albeit they will take no account of themselves, yet they must give an account to God at the day of judgment.

Verse 23. But Sihon gave Israel no license to pass through his Border: and Sihon assembled all his people, and went out against Israel into the wilderness, &c. The request to give the Israelites a quiet and peaceable passage, being quiet & peaceable men, was just and reasonable; yet the petition is denied, and the people themselves that made it, are persecuted. They offered no wrong, they drew no sword, they shot no Arrow, they cast no Dart, they took away nothing, yet they are hated and hurried unto the death, and assaulted without mercy. This teacheth, that the ungodly do hate and persecute the godly without cause. This is the practice of wicked men, to pursue the children of God with all injurious and despiteful dealing, albeit they offer no occasion of hurt or harm unto them. We see this practice in Cain, who hated his brother, and albeit he spake friendly unto him, yet drawing him into the field, he rose up against him & slew him. This the Prophet complaineth of Psalm. 69, 4, and 35, 7. Joseph was sold as a slave, and imprisoned as a malefactor. Jeremiah was many ways troubled and clapped up. David was hated & hunted frō place to place. The Apostles were whipped and scourged in the Synagogues; Stephen was reviled and stoned; Christ was scorned and crucified: Paul was buffeted and persecuted. The Saints were tried by mocking, burned in the fire, slain with the sword, they wandered in the wilderness, they were hidden in caves and holes of the earth.

The Reasons are very plain & direct. For first, it seemeth unto them more then strange, [Reason 1] that the faithful are not brethren with them in evil, but separate themselves from them, & will touch no unclean thing. If we were of the world, the world would love his own, but because we are chose out of the world, therefore the world hateth us. So long as Paul ioynd with y ^e Pharisees in persecuting the Church, & imprisoning all those that called vpō the Lord Jesus, who was in greater favor and credit with thē? But whē he was called to preach y ^e truth which before he had oppugned, and became zealous in the faith which before he destroyed, by & by the Jews took counsel to kill him. Christ Jesus the Lord of life, before he was installed into his Office, was in favor with God and men: but when he was baptized, albeit he was always in favor with his Father, yet immediately afterward, he was tempted of the devil, contemned of his Country-men, and led to the edge of an hill to be cast down headlong. This is that which the Apostle Peter witnesseth, 1 Pet. 4.4, 5. But it is better for us to have the hatred of men, and the ill will of all the world, then fail in any part of our duty unto God, who is able to cast body and soul into hell.

[Reason 2] Secondly, no marvel if the wicked hate the godly, for the world hateth Christ. He was called a Samaritan, he was counted a Coniurer, he was esteemed as a drunkard, a deceiver, a devil, a friend of Publicans and sinners, If they have thus reviled the Master of the house, no marvel if they respect not the members. The Ambassador must not look to be greater then he that sent him: the Disciple must not dream of a better condition then the Lord: if they have done thus to the green Tree, what will they do to the dry and withered? If they deal thus with him that is always fruitful & flourishing, and liveth forever, we must not look that they should deal better with us that are unfruitful and full of the unsavory fruits of our corruption. This Christ himself teacheth in sundry places, Mat. 10, 24 25. The Disciple is not above his Master, nor the servant above his Lord: it is enough for the Disciple to be as his Master is, and the servant as his Lord: if they have called the Master of the house, Belzebub, how much more them of his household?

[Use 1] Now let us see what uses may be gathered from hence. First, we may assure our selves, that it is a lamentable and woeful condition to live and dwell among such mallitious & mischievous enemies. They grin and grind their teeth at us like Dogs: they gape at us with their mouths, like the ramping and roaring Lyon: they push at us with their heads like the fat Bulls of Bashan: they run at us with their horns like the Unicorn, they whet their tuskes at us like the wild Boar out of the wood: they seek to eat us up like the savage beasts of the Field and Forest. Would we not take it to be a fearful condition to be carried into a great and terrible Wilderness, and to be compassed about with Dragons, Tigers, Bears, and other devouring beasts, ready to eat us in pieces while there is none to help? But man unto man, is many times all these; especially the unfaithful man to the faithful. • or what fellowship is there between the seed of the woman, and the seed of the serpent? Wh • t communion between light and darkness? and what concord between Christ and Belial. This the Prophet acknowledged & felt by experience in his own person, Woe is me that I remained in Meshech, & dwell in the tents of Kedar: my soul hath too long dwelt with him that hateth peace: I seek peace, and when I speak thereof, they are bent to war. For, as the society of the faithful is good and comely, like the precious ointment upon the head of Aaron, and as the dew falling upon the mountains of Hermon and Zion, because they take sweet counsel together, and go unto the house of God as companions: so the accompanying & conversing with evil persons is irksome and tedious unto the godly, as if they lived with Wolves and wild beasts in the Wilderness. True it is, the people of God hate and abhor the sins of the ungodly, but yet love their persons, as the Physician hateth the disease, but loveth the person of his Patient. But the ungodly hate not only the infirmities of the faithful, but their persons, even to the death, as the dung of the earth, and the off-scouring of all things: and therefore we must needs account it a woeful condition, full of grief, anguish, and vexation of Spirit to live among them. This life is as a continual death.

Secondly, seeing this is the entertainment that we must look for, and shall find in the [Use 2] world to be hated and harrowed by the ungodly, it standeth us upon to live in unity and to love one another, as the children of the Father and the disciples of Christ. When enemies daily increase and join their forces together in a common band, & an united league it standeth all those upon that are of the communion of Saints, that are come unto Mount Zion, to the City of the living God, and to the assembly and congregation of the first borne, which are written in heaven, to unite & combine themselves together as one man. The adversaries of the Church are many, their power is mighty, their malice is insatiable against y ^e little flock of Christ: it is time therefore for us to join our selves against the common adversary. Who can be ignorant how the popish crew associate themselves together, seeking to subvert the state, and to overthrow religion established among us, being resolved by murdrous Mass-Priests, and set on fire of hell? We have also many hollow-hearted hypocrites, damnable Atheists, filthy Libertines, & sundry loose livers, y ^t can abide none to make any sincere profession of godliness. The poor sheep and innocent Lambes of Christ amidst so many subtle Foxes and cruel Wolves, had need love one another, being hated of the world, and seek the good one of another, being maligned of the wicked.

Hereunto Christ exhorteth in sundry places as John. 13. A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another, as I have loved you that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. And in the 16. Chapter he moveth the Disciples to love one another, seeing they are hated of the world as their Mayster was. This therefore is the comfort of a true Christian, that albeit he be hated of the ungodly, yet there is a true communion among the believers of all gifts and graces granted unto them, being ready to teach the ignorant, to gather home them that go astray, to bind up the broken-hearted, to comfort the weak, to convince the deceived, to admonish the unruly, to stir up them that are dull, & to encourage all in well-doing. And touching the bodies of our brethren, those that have this worlds good, must show themselves willing to help the poor, to feed y ^e hungry, to clothe the naked, to raise up the distressed, to visit the sick, and to do good to all, but especially to them that are of the household of faith. Gal. 6, 10.

Lastly, seeing hatred lodgeth in the heart [Use 3] of a wicked man toward the faithful, it is our duty to pray to God to be delivered from unreasonable and evil men, Seeing all have not faith; and that living among them, we may be established and kept blameless, and pure from evil, and may shine as lights in the midst of a crooked & naughty Nation, holding forth the word of life. This the Prophet David declareth, Psalm. 35, 12, 13, 15, 16.17. Thus doth God wean us from the love and liking of this world, that we should look and long after his kingdom, where is fullness of joy for evermore.

Verses 25, 26. And Israel took all those Cities: therefore Israel dwelled in all the Cities of the Amorites in Heshbon, and in all the Villages thereof. These Cities taken by the Israelites did sometimes belong to the Moabites, as appeareth, Judge. 11. But Sihon had taken them from Veheb the former King of the Moabites. So thē in these words we have the preventing of an Objection, as Lyra well observeth upon this place, where it is said, that Israel dwelt in Heshbon, & in the Villages thereof, which properly belonged to the Land of Moab, as part and parcel thereof, being now rent and torn in pieces as a body that had lost many limbs and members. Some man therefore might ask the question, how came the Israelites to possess that Land, seeing they were expressly restrained and forbidden of God to fight against the Moabites, & they were told that they should have no part nor portion of their Land given unto them? Deut. 2, 9. Thou shalt not vex Moab, neither provoke them to battle, for I will not give thee of their Land for a possession. To this Moses answereth, that albeit it could not be denied and gain-said, but that the Cities were in former time within the Borders and Territories of Moab, yet Sihon had taken them away by right of war, and conquest of the sword: so that now they were alienated from the Moabites, and appropriated to the Amorites, who possessed them and dwelt in them. So then the Israelites offered no wrong to the Moabites, but recovered the places to their own use out of the hand of the Amorites. Neither did Moab lay any claim to them for many generations, as Iephtah declareth, Judge. 11. And this is the right that Israel had to these Cities.

Thus we see what dealings passed between the Moabites and the Amorites, before Israel came to these places: both of them were idolaters, both wicked men, both grossly ignorant of the true worship of God, and desperate enemies to the true Church: one is ready to cut the throat of another, and killeth one another in battle. We learn from hence, that God punisheth oftentimes one wicked man by the hand of another. He raiseth up and armeth one of them to destroy another, to eat up and consume another. This truth appeareth in many other places of holy Scripture. Chedor-laomer usurping dominion over other Nations, made war against them, and took away all the substance as a prey & booty out of Sodom and Gomorrhah. God in his providence causeth one evil man to slay another. The Sodomites were exceeding sinners against the Lord. He raised up an enemy, not much better then themselves for their destruction. The like we see in the example of the Midianites, Who sheathed their swords in their own bowels. Indeed Gideon gave his men at arms, that went with him to that service, Lamps, Trumpets, and Pitchers, and thus he marched against his enemies: they sounded their Trumpets, they brake their Pitchers, they lighted their Lamps, then the host of the Midianites fled, & every man's sword was set against his neighbor, their own weapons were their own bane, their own men were their own murderers, and so they destroyed one another. This the Prophet Habbakkuk showeth, when the Law was dissolved, Justice oppressed, cruelty practiced, and all wickedness was advanced among them, the LORD would work a wonder among them He would raise up the Chaldeans against them, a bitter and furious Nation to destroy them, a people worse then themselves. This is that which Isaiah the Prophet pointeth unto, when he saith, Everyone shall eat the flesh of his own arm, Manasseh Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh: and they both shall be against Judah, Isaiah 9, 21. Likewise he prophesieth the destruction of Babylon by the Medes and Persians, chap. 13, 17. The destruction of the Egyptians by the Assyrians, chap. 19. Yea he would set the Egyptians against the Egyptians, so that everyone should fight against his brother, and everyone against his neighbor, City against City, and Kingdom against Kingdom.

The reasons of this order and manner of God's working, are not hard to find. For first, [Reason 1] who shall limit him what means to use, and what persons to employ in his service? Dare any Subject prescribe unto his Prince whom he shall send? Or shall a servant teach & appoint his master whom he shall entertain to perform his business? Or will any Magistrate & master take well such pride & presumption? Shall God then, the King of Kings, & the master over all men, be stinted and limited whom he shall use? As none can appoint him what he shall do, or when he shall punish, or whom he shall correct: no more can we decree or determine the means and manner of his proceedings. He appointeth the times and seasons of punishing, he singleth out the persons to be punished. For who hath known the mind of the Lord? Or who was his Counselor? He will find out his enemies in their sins, and he will choose out the instruments of his own judgments. He armeth many times men of evil hearts, and of unclean hands to do his works diligently, and to accomplish his ways fervently. When the Lord would smite the house of Ahab, and avenge the blood of his servants the Prophets, Jehu is anointed King over Israel, & made the Rod of the Lord, who performed his word and will to the full, he slew Jehoram, cast down Jezebel, and slew the Priests of Baal: yet notwithstanding all his zeal which he pretended for the Lord, his heart was not upright before him, neither regarded he to walk in the Law of the Lord God of Israel, neither departed he from the sins of Jeroboam which made Israel to sin. As then the work is the Lord's, so is the workman: and as the judgment is his, so is the instrument which he chooseth and fitteth to effect the same, without the prescription & appointment of any other.

[Reason 2] Again, albeit they be wicked and ungodly men, infidels and idolaters that he imploieth to finish his work, & to bring his decree & determination to pass, yet he frameth their harts to serve his providence, as seemeth good in his heavenly wisdom. He hath the hearts of all men in his hand, even of Kings, to turn them about to be instruments of his will. If then he can change the hearts of enemies, no marvel if he use them as his servants. So he useth the service of the devils and evil spirits, and maketh them to do his will, and against their will▪ & further the salvation of his children, whō they purposed to bring to despair and damnation, as appeareth in the History of Job's temptations. Albeit they be not his faithful servants to do his will cheerfully, yet they are his slaves to serve him by constraint and compulsion. This the Apostle John declareth in the destruction of that great whore which is drunk with the blood of the Saints, with whom the Kings of the earth committed fornication; namely, that they gave their power and authority to the Beast; but they shall hate the whore, make her desolate, eat her flesh, and burn her with fire: for God hath put in their hearts to fulfill his will, and to do with one consent, for to give their kingdom unto the Beast, until the words of God be fulfilled. Reu. 17, 15, 16, 17. Nothing is done without the will of God. He holdeth in his hands the hearts and purposes of Princes, and great men upon earth, and directeth them by a secret motion to work what he pleaseth, whether they know his will, or know it not, the whole action cometh of him, and from him. For howsoever it might seem hard and harsh, that the Angel saith, it was GOD that put it into the harts of Kings to advance the Papacy, which was the work of the devil to seduce the world: yet after a sort the Lord also doth it, who as a just Judge for the wickedness of the world, and contempt of y ^e Gospel, letteth loose Satan, to deceive in his heavy, yet righteous judgment. So the Apostle teacheth, that God shall send strong delusions, that they shall believe lies, that will not embrace and receive the truth. 2 Thes. 2, 11.

The uses are to be thought upon, and to be [Use 1] learned of us. First, marvel not if wicked mē many times prosper and prevail. For if God use them as his Rods, and enableth them to work his will, albeit they do not fear God, nor purpose to serve him, nor aim at his glory, yet they shall overcome and have the upper hand, for God hath sent them, God hath armed them, God hath said unto them, go and prosper. Let us not therefore think when evil men prevail, that all things are shufled & huddled together: let us not doubt of God's high providence over-ruling the world: let us not make prosperity a note of the Church, as if it were always here in flourishing estate, multiplying in wealth, abound • ng in friends, glorious in victories, flowing in honors, increasing in multitudes, and excelling in outward privileges, for God many times raiseth up the heads of evil men to bring mighty things to pass. This the Prophet Ezekiel declareth, chap. 29, 18, 19, 20. Son of Man, Nebuchadnezzar King of Babel, caused his army to serve a great service against Tyrus: every head was made bald, and every shoulder was made bare: yet had he no wages, nor yet his army for Tyrus, for the service that he served against it: therefore thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I will give the Land of Egypt to the King of Babel, and he shall take her multitude, and spoil her spoil, and take her prey, and it shall be the wages of his army: I have given him the Land of Egypt for his labor that he served against it: because they wrought for me, saith the Lord God. Where the Prophet showeth, that Nebuchadnezzar had served God's providence in the siege and sacking of Tyrus; and therefore he had another kingdom given him for it, and blessed with victory over other enemies. This is the reason why evil men are set up, and have a reward of temporal blessings, because they are God's soldiers, and are under his pay, who suffereth them not to go and depart without their wages. Thus all earthly things fall out alike to all, & there is the same outward condition belonging to all, To the just and unjust, to the pure and to the polluted. Eccles, 9, 2.

Secondly, let us from hence know assuredly, there are no ways to withstand his wrath, [Use 2] no policy to prevent his judgments, no force that can resist his purposes. We see how many means he hath to bring forth his decrees: he can make the ungodly serve him, whensoever he will command them. True it is God's children guided by his Spirit, and framed to the obedience of his will, will always be serviceable to him with cheerfulness of heart and willingness of mind. If he command his adversaries any work, they must obey him, albeit against their wills: he enforceth them as slaves to do his will. Whatsoever their purposes be, God disposeth them to bring his own decrees to pass. What man then can promise to himself rest and peace, or think to wind himself from the hand of God, or escape the sentence gone out against him, or stand against God coming out to take vengeance upon him? Seeing he hath so many servants in readiness set in battle array to perform his purposes, and can single out what instruments he listeth, albeit as evil as themselves. This the Prophets teach everywhere, to the terror of all God's enemies. Consider that Jeremiah is bold, and saith to Zedekiah King of Judah, Deceiue not yourselves, saying; The Chaldeans shall surely depart from us, for they shall not depart: for though ye had smitten the whole host of the Chaldeans that fight against you, and there remained but wounded men among them, yet should every man rise up in his Tent and burn this City with fire. The destruction of the ungodly hangeth not upon the power and pleasure of men, nor on the might and multitude of Soldiers, but on the judgment of God, who giveth strength to the weak, and courage to the coward, and might to the maimed man, to root out and to destroy. This should greatly humble and terrify the wicked man, that promiseth safety & security to himself, who notwithstanding lieth open every way to the wrath and indignation of God.

Lastly, let the people of God comfort thenselves, [Use 3] though they be over-burdened and over-mastered by them. A time will come, and loe, it tarrieth not, when those wicked men that oppress and vex the Church▪ shall be rooted out. The Lord of hosts hath men and Angels, and all creatures to work out their destruction: he can whistle for other enemies, as evil as themselves to come against them, to conquer and overcome them. Be not therefore daunted to see them rule and reign: Fret not thyself because of the evil men, neither be envious for the evil doers, for they shall soon be cut down like grass, and shall wither as the green Hearb. Trust in the Lord and do good, dwell in the Land, and thou shalt be fed assuredly. I have seen the wicked, strong and spreading himself like a green Bay-tree, yet he passed away, and loe he was gone, and I sought him, but he could not be found. Let us therefore no whit be troubled to see the enemies of God and of the godly exalted and lifted up; they are set in slippery places, they are suddenly destroyed and horribly consumed as a dream when one awaketh: For God sendeth an evil spirit among them, as he did between Abimelech and the men of Shichem, to be revenged of the cruelty which they had shown toward the 70. sons of Ierubbaal. Judge. 9, 23, 24. We see this in the delivery of the Church out of Babylon; God stirred up the Medes & Persians, as great idolaters, as proud and profane persons as themselves, and by Cyrus delivered them, whom long before he had designed and deputed to that work. This the Prophet Isaiah showeth, chap. 21, 2, 10. So the •• albeit y ^e Church were as it were thressed with a Flaile, and a Cartwheele turned upon their backs, albeit their loins were filled with sorrow, yet shall their enemies come to ruin and destruction, Babel is fallen, it is fallen, and all the Images of her God's hath he broken to the ground. Isaiah 21, 9. Howsoever therefore the estate of the Church in Babylon seemed desperate, and past all hope of recovering her former glory, yet we see God wanted not ways and means to free his chosen people, and set them at liberty, he raised the Medes and Persians to lead them by the hand out of y ^e hand of their oppressors. His hand is not now shortened, his power is not now weakened, he can deal thus with all his enemies, & the enemies of his Church. If he blow upon them with the blast of his mouth, they pass away suddenly, as the chaff is scattered before the wind. An example hereof is recorded in the holy History, 2 Chron. 20, 23. when a great multitude of the Moabites, Ammonites, and Amorites, assembled themselves to fight against Jehoshaphat, after he had set himself to seek y ^e Lord, proclaiming a fast throughout all Judah, asking counsel of the Lord, and praying to him in the zeal of his spirit, the enemies slew one another with the sword. Thus doth God turn the edge of the sword drawn against the Church, upon themselves, & rescueth his people when there is none to help. We have had experience of God's protection of his church, our eyes have seen, and our ears have heard how one hath butchered and murdered another, whereby God hath given a time of rest and breathing unto his servants. He is the same without changing, with him is no variableness, neither shadow of turning; if we turn to him with all our hearts, he will turn to us, and not suffer the rod of the wicked always to rest on the lot of the righteous, lest they should put forth their hand to wickedness.

Therefore Israel dwelled in all the Cities of the Amorites in Heshbon, and in all the Villages thereof. We have heard of the murders & slaughters that were between the Moabites & the Amorites, in the which, howsoever one sought to defend himself, the other prevailed by usurpation (as might sometimes over-cometh right:) yet the purpose of God, who over-swayeth all actions of men, and draweth good out of evil, was to give rest to his people, and to make them inherit and inhabit the Cities and Villages which the Amorites had wrongfully gotten. Hereby we learn for our instruction, that God oftentimes bringeth the godly and faithful that please him, to inherit the Lands and possessions of the wicked and ungodly. Howsoever the believers that fear God, are many times thrust out of house and home, and have their lawful possessions taken from them, as we see in Naboth's Vineyard, and in Abraham's Well: yet sometimes God returneth in mercy to the faithful, and maketh the substance and inheritance of the unfaithful, to descend unto them. This is confirmed in the Book of Exodus, at the departure of Israel out of the Land of Egypt, at which time GOD recompensed the sore labors and heavy travels of his people, imposed upon them by cruel task-masters, For they asked of the Egyptians Jewels of silver, and Ingots of gold, and change of raiment; then the Lord gave them favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they granted their requests, enriched the Israelites, and spoiled themselves. Exod. 12, 35, 36. This goodness of God the Prophet with praise acknowledgeth toward his people, saying; He cast out the Heathen before them, & caused them to fall to the lot of his inheritance, &c. Psal. 78, 55. This verifieth the saying of the wise man, Prov. 28, 8. He that increaseth his riches by usury and interest, gathereth them for him that will be merciful to the poor. And in another place, The good man shall give inheritance to his children's children, and the riches of the sinner is laid up for the just. In like manner Job describing the condition of the ungodly, fheweth, that though he should heap up silver as the dust, and prepare raiment as the clay; he may prepare it, but the just shall put it on, and the innocent shall divide the silver. Thus God taketh away the things of this life from such as use thē wickedly, and bestoweth them upon such as will employ them lawfully.

[Reason 1] The Reasons remain to be considered to strengthen this truth, and to make it appear to the conscientes of all of us, to be a necessary and apparent truth. First of all, the mercy of God, toward such as are sealed up to be his servants, is without end; there is no brim nor bottom of it. If then his mercy surmount our thoughts he will let pass no part of his kindness toward them that do fear him. Thus the Prophet reasoneth, Psal. 136, 21, 22. Where, upon these examples of God's great kindness toward Israel, in overthrowing Sihon King of the Amorites, and Og the King of Bashan, he saith, He gave their Land for an heritage, for his mercy endureth forever: even an heritage unto Israel his servant, for his mercy endureth forever, Whensoever therefore we see this come to pass, we must acknowledge the cause of it to be in God, who ceaseth not to be good to those that be his.

[Reason 2] Again, God maketh known his power among his people, to teach them to depend upon him, to show unto them that they serve not a weak and impotent God, & to instruct them to walk in the obedience of his ways. This the Prophet pointeth out, Psalm. 44, 2, 3, and 111, 6, & 105, 44, 45.

[Use 1] The uses follow. First, this truth teacheth, who is the sovereign disposer of all things in heaven and earth; namely, God. He ordereth kingdoms, and disposeth Countries, he giveth and taketh away, he increaseth and diminisheth, he maketh rich, and maketh poor. It is not our own strength or policy; it is not our own care or labor, it is the bountifulness and blessing of God, that is all in all. We have here beneath upon the earth, Owners and Land-lords, we have such as account themselves possessors of houses and lands: but we must know that we are all Tenants at will, we enjoy nothing by Lease or Indenture for term of years, but hold the tenure of the Lands and livings at the will and pleasure of the great and high Land-lord of all the world. This is the confession of Hannah in her song of thanksgiving, 1 Sam. 2, 7, 8. The Lord maketh poor, and maketh rich, bringeth low, and exalteth: he raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among Princes: and to make them inherit the seat of glory, for the Pillars of the earth are the Lord's, and he hath set the world upon them. Whatsoever therefore we have, let us acknowledge therein, not our own deserts or merits, but the goodness of God toward us, filling us with good things to serve him.

Secondly, let us from hence confess, that [Use 2] all the cark and care of man with his best endeavours, cannot always attain to the benefit and fruit of his travel, but he provideth that which another enjoyeth. This the Prophet Haggai testifieth, chap 1, 6.9. Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat but ye have not enough; ye drink but ye are not filled; ye clothe you, but ye are not warm, &c. According to that which our Savior addeth, Math. 6, 27. Which of you by taking care, is able to add one cubit unto his stature? This the wise man teacheth in the Proverbs. chap, 12, 27. The deceitful man roasteth not that he took in hunting: but the riches of the diligent man are precious. Wherefore it standeth us upon, not to be immoderately pensive, and distrustfully careful for the profits and commodities of this life, nor trust in the labors of our own hands, but pray to God to send us his blessing, & to pour down the riches of his grace upon us, as the shower upon the herbs, and as the great rain upon the grass. It is not our own work that can give us wealth, or our own labor can make us rich. Except the Lord build the house they labor in vain that build it: except the LORD watch the City, the keeper watcheth in vain: it is vain for you to rise early, and to lie down late, and eat the bread of sorrow, but he will surely give rest to hi • beloved. So thē we must confess, that nothing in house or City, nothing in Church or Common-wealth can be enterprized & finished aright, except God be the directer and guider of it. To the end therefore y ^e blessings of God may ever concur with our lawful labors, let us sanctify thē with prayer, & crave of God his special favor to bless the works of our hands to his glory and our comfort.

[Use 3] Thirdly, seeing wicked men after all their pains and labors do lay up in store for the faithful, both the one and rhe other sort must lay this unto their hearts. Let the ungodly lament and howl their folly, and not trust in their own strength. It is a great grief for a natural and carnal man to depart from his substance and treasure, upon which he hath set his heart; but this doubleth his grief, and increaseth his sorrow, to see such as he holdeth his enemies, to enter upon them, & quietly to enjoy them. What can more humble them, then to take from them the comfort wherein they rested, and the staff whereon they leaned, and the confidence wherein they trusted, so bereaving them of the fruit of their hands, which was the joy of their hearts, the hope of their lives, and the key of all their comfort. This use is directly concluded by the Prophet Jeremiah, chap. 42, 3. Behold the days come, saith the Lord, that I will cause a noise of war to be heard in Rabbah of the Amonites, and it shall be a desolate heap, and her daughters shall be burnt with fire, then shall Israel possess those that possessed him, saith the Lord. Howle, O Heshbon, for Ai is wasted: cry ye daughters of Rabbah, gird you with sackcloth, mourn & turn too and fro by the hedges, &c. Wherefore let us not put our affiance and confidence in these earthly, transitory, and uncertain things, which take their wings as an Eagle, and fly into the heaven. On the other side, this should comfort the faithful in the uprightness of their harts, and teach all persons to labor to be truly godly and religious. For this is the fruit and advantage that righteousness bringeth with it, it causeth a man's own goods to be stable and continue in his family, and draweth unto it the riches of others by the free gift of God. Thus we see, Deut. 28, 30, 31. that whereas in the law it is denounced as a curse, that a man should build an house, and another should dwell in it: plant a vineyard, and yet shall not eat the fruit: have his Ox slain before his eyes, and not eat thereof: it showeth the woeful condition of the ungodly, that he shall not reap the fruit of his labors, nor attain to the end he expecteth. Contrarywise, the godly are comforted, and have their bowels refreshed, forasmuch as they learn by this dealing of God, that the wicked man is so far from leaving his goods to his posterity, that they are oftentimes stripped from him, & put upon the righteous, who by the providence of God is made heir against his will. Wherefore, if we desire to leave our posterities in good estate, we can no way better provide for them, secure their persons, and settle their estates to continue, then if we lead a godly life, and keep a good conscience toward God and men.

[Use 4] Lastly, this Doctrine declaring how God translateth the substance and possession of the ungodly to the godly, ministereth matter unto them to praise the Lord, who is the giver of every good giving, and of every perfect gif • . This the Prophet teacheth Israel to acknowledge, Psal. 44, 3. & 105, 2, 3, 44, 45. & 136, 1, 21. that they inherited not the Land of Promise by dint of the sword, by the strength of their arm, by the multitude of their men, but confess the power of God's right hand, the light of his countenance, and the comfort of his favor. Hereupon he stirreth up the people to praise him, to call upon his name, and to declare his works to their posterity, Sing unto him, sing praise unto him, and talk of all his wondrous works, rejoice in his holy name, and let the heart of them that seek the Lord, rejoice. We are unworthy of these exceeding mercies, not only to find the comfort of our own labors, but to inherit the possessions of others, if we do not endeavor to stir up our hearts, and all y ^t is within us to praise his holy name. Therefore Moses putteth the people of Israel in remembrance of this duty of thanksgiving whē they should come unto the land of Canaan, to Cities and houses built by their enemies, they should take heed they forgot not that good God that should bring them thither. This sacrifice was offered willingly and joyfully by the Israelites, when they saw their desire upon their enemies, and their goods given to the members of the Church: they rejoiced and were glad, joy and gladness arose among them.

[Verse 27. Wherefore they that speak in Proverbs. ] Here is mention of a piece of Poetry, and an ancient song made by some skillful Poet, as Moses or some other among the people of God, containing Sihons invading of the Moabites, his possessing their Cities, with the cause, to wit, their idolatry, and the Israelites recovering and regaining them out of his hand to their proper use. This Poem was made in verse, both for the better remembrance of the singers, and for the more effectual setting down of these victors, to move attention, admiration, and other affections. We learn from this practice of the people of God, that Poetry is ancient in the Church of God, and commendable among the godly. The setting forth of the works of God, not only truly, soundly, and simply, in a plain form & frame of words, but strictly, poetically, artificially, is worthy of praise and commendation. This appeareth by the manifold practice of the Patriarchs, Prophets, Prophetesses, and other holy men and women in the old & New Testament. See the examples of Moses singing the praises of God after their deliverance out of Egypt, after the overthrow of Pharaoh, and after their passage over the red sea; he footed it not in a low, but in a lofty style praising God in verses, not in prose, for the greater efficacy of the matter, and the better expressing of their affections. The like we might say of his sweet song sung not long before his death, Deut. 31, 19, 22. & 32, 1, 2, &c. which he taught the children of Israel, thus did Deborah and Barak. And thus did David make an Epitaph in verse upon the death of Saul and Jonathan, after they were slain by the Philistines, not penned after the plain and vulgar manner, but with many rhetorical flourishes of Tropes and figures according to the nature of the verse, and the substance of the matter.

[Reason 1] The Reasons hereof are easy to be conceived, to avouch the lawfulness & praise-worthiness of this Art. For first, every Art and knowledge is of God. Every good giving and every perfect gift (saith the Apostle James ) is from above, and cometh down from the Father of Lights. Every Mechanical trade and handy-craft is the gift of God: there is no excelling in any of them but by his special gift, who is the God of knowledge: which maketh a difference, not only between man & beast, but between man and man. Such as found out curious works in Gold, Silver, & Brasse, in grauing of stones, in caruing of wood, in making any Needle-work about the Tabernacle, Were filled with the spirit of God, in wisdom, in knowledge, and understanding. As it is God that frameth the hand to such inventions, so it is he that guideth the pen, & giveth the tongue of the learned, to speak or write after an excellent manner. The Heathen men were wont to say, That Poets were inspired of God to go beyond the reach of the vulgar sort. So then, this gift being more then ordinary, must needs in a peculiar and special sort be from God.

[Reason 2] Secondly, sundry parts and books of holy Scripture are penned poetically, and those of excellent & worthy note; albeit we know not the kinds and measures of them (howsoever sundry have labored to find out the several numbers and natures of them) inasmuch as every Language hath his peculiar frame & fashion, yet not only some certain parts and parcels, but sundry whole books, as hath been said, were Poetically penned, and in that respect may be fitly called Poetical Books. Of this kind and nature, are the book of Job, the Psalms of David, the Proverbs of Solomon, the book of the Preacher, and the Song of songs: all which seem to be contained & comprehended by our Savior Christ, under the title of the Psalms, when he divideth the whole Scripture into the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms, as Luke 24, 14. Besides, when anything of greatest note, worthy of greatest remembrance and commendation was to be set down in the Scriptures, the Prophets did choose to speak in this artificial composition of words & sentences to give a greater grace, and add greater glory unto the same, as appeareth in sundry places of the Law and Prophets.

[Use 1] The uses of this truth, direct us to sundry profitable meditations, and weighty considerations. For first, it teacheth us in part the majesty and authority of the Scriptures. They are not certain rugged and ragged writings to be contemned for their rudeness and simplicity, and to be condemned for their baseness and homeliness, as the Atheists and others, that boast and brag of their fine wits, are not ashamed to give out; but Books full of holy excellency, and wonderful stateliness; not only working grace in the hearts of the hearers, but carrying a grace to the ears of the hearers. Books filled with true eloquence, and more able to persuade, then all the enticing words of human wisdom. Therefore, the Lord to deliver his word from disgrace & reproach, doth sometimes fly aloft with a majestical gravity, and stately port, able to astonish the outward senses, & sufficient to draw the whole man into admiration; and thereby showeth what he could do in the rest of the holy Scriptures, if it had pleased him. Let a man read with singleness of heart, and with the eye of judgment the 104. Psalm, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. verses, describing the Majesty of God: or Ecclesiastes 12. verses 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, &c. describing the approaching of old age: or the first chap. of Isaiah, verse. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, &c. describing the unthankfulness of the people; and having diligently read, and advisedly perused them, let him tell me whether he do not despise in comparison of them, not only the descriptions of Homer and Virgil, but the Orations of Tully and Demosthenes, as froth and scum, having only the empty shadow of the true and right eloquence.

So the Apostle Paul being charged to be rude in speaking, doth not confess any want in his style, or crave pardon for any fault, but doth justify his manner of writing, & purposely auoideth the wisdom of man's eloquence. He opposeth his plainness to the set and curious speech of the false Apostles, who came in gay appearance, and hunted after fine phrases, and show of words, as if they had had all the strength of truth that might be on their side: yet notwithstanding, in this plain style the Apostle showeth himself most mighty, and most eloquent, garnishing his words, and adorning his sentences with all the figures that Art can afford, so far as served to move affections, and to touch the conscience. For the power of the Scriptures inspired by God, standeth in the inward force and virtue, working upon the soul, piercing the heart, casting down the imaginations that lift up themselves against the truth, converting the whole man, and entering through to the dividing of the soul and spirit, of the joints & marrow, yea discerning the thoughts and intents of the heart. The Apostles of Christ, subdued the whole world, not with fire and sword, not with carnal and bodily weapons, but by the plain preaching of Christ crucified, as Paul himself confesseth, 1 Cor. 2, 2. He regarded to know nothing among them, but Christ Jesus, and him crucified. And in 1 Cor. 2, 3, 4. I was among you in weakness and in fear, and in much trouble: neither stood my word and my preaching in the enticing speech of man's wisdom, but in plain evidence of the Spirit and of power, that your Faith should not be in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. Seeing therefore it hath pleased God to give us a taste, and to leave as it were the prints and footsteppes of all learning and Arts in the world, insomuch that no form of reasoning, no ornament of speaking, no gift of persuading is read in any profane author but the same is found in the Scripture, as in a plentiful storehouse: yea, with far greater grace and excellency then anywhere else; let us acknowledge the majesty of the word, and reverently esteem of it above all other Writings.

Secondly, seeing Poetry is a good gift, to [Use 2] be reverenced and received for the antiquity and worthiness, it serveth to reprove those that abuse this gift, to the reproach of the Art it self, and to the dishonor of the giver. And howsoever many among the Heathen excelled in this kind, and have lighted a candle to others, yet was this Art nowhere more disgraced and disgraded from the former glory, and ancient estimation thereof, then amongst themselves. For, whereas Poetry at the first was used to express some memorable accident, and record some great work to posterity, that it might be better remembered and regarded: they turned these uses into wrong ends, & changed the truth into horrible lies. For, what are all the Poems of the Infidels & unbelieving Gentiles, but a detestable mingling of histories with Fables, of truth with lies, of deeds done with their own dreams and inventions? And whereas of old time, there was no difference between a plain story and an artificial Poem, but in the manner of penning and enditing: the one being easy and evident, the other curious and cunning, more exquisite and labored: they have set the one against the other, and opposed them as contraries; charging an history to speak the truth, all the truth, and nothing but the truth, but discharging a Poem of this burden. They require the foundation to be some deed done indeed, and then build upon it Fables and falsehood: so that the plain song being a truth, the descant shall be a lie. Neither hath this Noble Science been abused only among the Gentiles, but the remnants of it have crept into the Schools, and defiled the pens of many Christians. We must feek to restore its ancient honor, and being a grave matron, we must pull from her the Ornaments and deckings that do not become her. Therefore, let not young men addicted to this Art, abuse this gift, but use it to the praise of God and to the publishing of his works. Let them in their Poems show themselves Christians, and manifest themselves to differ from the unbelieving Gentiles that know not God. Let all songs and Sonets of love, or rather Lusts, all scurrilous jests and Satirical Pamphlets, be banished from us; which are not the fault • of Art, but of the Artist: not of Poetry, but of the Poet: not of the matter, but of the man. Let all invocation of strange gods, and heathenish inducing of many gods, be odious to our ears, speeches usual among many, but not seasoned with salt as they ought to be. We have liberty enough to follow the verse without wandering into such licentiousness; whereunto the Apostle directeth us, Ephes. 4, 29. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouths, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.

Lastly, seeing the Art of Poetry is lawful [Use 3] and laudable, let us praise God and sing to him in spiritual songs penned by the Prophets, and endited by the Spirit of GOD, for the instruction and direction of the Church, not only in the book of Psalms, but in other places of the Scripture. And surely, it were a worthy and profitable labor, tending to the advancing of the glory of God, & serving for the comfort of the Church, if all the songs of prayer and praises which are found in the Law and the Prophets, were turned and tuned for the ordinary use of our assemblies, and joined to the book of Psalms, as the song of Moses, of Miriam, of Deborah, of Isaiah, of Hezekiah, of Habakkuk, of the Canticles and Lamentations, together with some others in other places to be found; that we might have plentiful matter, and perfect direction, to lift up our hearts and voices unto God upon all occasions that shall be offered unto us. Hereunto cometh the exhortation of the Apostle Paul, Col. 3, 16. Let the word of God dwell in you plentifully in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing your own selves in Psalms & Hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with a grace in your harts to the Lord. This duty of singing Psalms is not proper to the Church and the public assemblies of the Church, but an exercise of our Religion to be used publicly & privately, whether we would give thanks for some deliverance, or crave forgiveness of sins, or desire restoring of health, or crave the graces of God's Spirit, which we want. True it is, there are many abuses of this part of God's service (as also in the rest) yea even in singing y ^e Psalms of David, 1 Cor. 14, 15, 26. as using of an unknown tongue without understanding, the spending of too much time, shutting out thereby the preaching of the word, and hindering other exercises of our Religion: as we see it usual in the Church of Rome, where the chanting of their Mattins and Masses hath iustled out the publishing of the Doctrine of the Gospel, making the deed done, to be meritorious, available for the forgiveness of sins, singing many sinful and superstitious things touching the intercession of Saints and such trumpery, bringing in their broken Music, that nothing can be understood anymore, thē if it were in a strange tongue, & an unknown language; whereas all things should be done to edifying in the Church of God.

Notwithstanding all these abuses, we must maintain the right and holy use of singing in the Church, and in our houses, which is an exercise excellent in it self, acceptable to God, profitable to our selves, and those that hear us. The Apostle exhorteth the Ephesians, Not to be drunk with wine, wherein is excess, but to be filled with the Spirit, spe • king unto themselves in Psalms and Hymns, and spiritual songs, making melody to the Lord in their hearts. Ephe. 5, 18, 19. Likewise the Apostle James, chap. 5, 13. Is any among you afflicted? Let him pray. Is any merry let him sing Psalms. This was the practice of Paul and Silas, while they were in prison, They prayed at midnight, and sing Psalms unto God. Let us follow these examples of godly men, and take up this exercise better then we have done, being a notable gift of God: which duty, albeit commanded by precept, and commended by example, is greatly decayed in all places, and among all estates of men; instead whereof, profane songs and beastly Ballads are come in places, filling and defiling all shops, houses, and meetings, iustling out the other, to the decay of Religion, to the disgrace of the Psalms, to the corrupting of youth, to the contempt of the word, and to the dishonor of God.

[They that spake in Proverbs, say: Come to Heshbon, let the City of Sihon be built and repaired, &c.] The end of this Song, made of the people of GOD, was to keep a perpetual memory of the victories that God gave to the Israelites, and to teach the posterity to come, how they came to be owners and possessors of these Citiss. We learn from hence, That it is the duty of the faithful to remember and publish the works of God, whereof we are partakers or witnesses. Whensoever GOD showeth any of his works of mercy or judgment, toward our selves or others, toward soul or body, we must not hide them and bury them in forgetfulness, but spread them abroad, and make them known to others. This appeareth in sundry places of the word of God. The Prophet teacheth this duty, Psalm. 105, 1, 2. Praise the Lord, & call upon his Name, declare his works among the people: Sing unto him, sing praise unto him, and talk of all his wondrous works. And Psal. 107, 8. Let them confess before the Lord his loving kindness, and his wonderful works among the sons of men. So likewise Psalm. 111, 2, 3. The works of the Lord are great and ought to be sought of all them that love them: his work is glorious and beautiful, and his righteousness endureth forever. So Psal. 66, 16, 5, he provoketh all men to hear what God hath done for him, Come and hearken, all ye that fear God, and I will tell you what he hath done to my soul: and in the same Psalm he reproveth the dullness of men, that are cold in the consideration of the works of God, Come and behold the works of God, he is terrible in his doing toward the sons of men. When the Shepherds had found the word of the Angel true, and seen the Babe laid in the Cratch, They published abroad the thing that was told them of that child, to the great wondering of all those that heard it. And when the man, out of whom a legion of devils was departed, besought Christ that he might tarry with him: Jesus sent him away, saying; Return into thine own house, and show what great things God hath done to thee; so he went his way, and preached throughout all the Citty, what great things Jesus had done unto him. When Paul and Barnabas returned to Antioch, from whence they had been commended to the grace of God, to the work which they had fulfilled, having gathered together the Church, They rehearsed all the things that God had done by them, and how he had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles. Acts 14, 27. The practice of this duty, Christ commanded to the man that he had dispossessed, Mark. 5, 19, 20. Go thy way home to thy friends, & show thē what great things the Lord hath done unto thee, & how he hath had compassion on thee: so he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis, what great things Jesus had done unto him, and all men did marvel. All which precepts and examples teach us, that it is not enough to have received God's benefits, and to be mindful of them our selves, but also we are bound to make others according to our places to profit thereby, and to praise God for them, agreeable to the words of Peter and John to the council, We cannot but speak the things which we have seen & heard. Acts 4, 20.

The Reasons of this Doctrine are diverse, [Reason 1] whether we consider God, or our selves, or the faithful with whom we live. First, in respect of God, inasmuch as it standeth us all vpō, to set forth his glory, with all our strength and might. This is the chief and principal end, that we must aim at in all our ways, to seek to gain glory to his great Name, according to that general precept of the Apostle, Whether ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. So when God doth make known to us the works of his own right hand, this must be one motive to stir us up to spread them abroad, that thereby his Name may be glorified, and his saving health published among all Nations, as we see the practice in the Apostles.

Secondly, in respect of our selves. For this is a notable sign and token of a true and lively faith, that we believe the works of God, and lay them up deeply in our hearts, when we hide them not under a bushel, nor cover them in the ashes, but lift up our voice, as a Trumpet, to declare to others what our selves have learned. This the Prophet testifieth in his own practice, I will walk before the Lord in the Land of the living, I believed, and therefore did I speak. Psalm. 116, verses 9, 10. This is not peculiar to the Prophet only, to testify his faith by the words of his mouth, but is made general and common to others by the Apostle, Because we have the same spirit of Faith, according as it is written, I believed and therefore I have spoken: we also believe, and therefore speak. Such as do not believe the words and works of God, can never be fit instruments to give notice of them to others: but such as do in heart believe them, cannot but with y ^e tongue confess them, thereby to assure their own hearts, and to confirm their own faith more and more.

[Reason 3] Thirdly, we must have respect to others. For as Christ speaketh to Peter, when thou art converted strengthen thy brethren: so when we believe the works of God, we must labor to bring all other to a sound faith and right judgment. It is our duty to hunger and thirst after the salvation of others: and being called to the profession, we must toll the bell to others. There is no man that hath been truly acquainted with the works of God, and hath in conscience been convinced of the undoubted truth thereof, but ought to be as a public Cryer, and as the Lord's Herald to blaze them and publish them abroad for the good of others. This is the reason that moved the Prophet David to make such often & so many protestations, to speak of all his wondrous works, to tell his marvelous works, to publish the praises of the Lord & his great power.

This is the reason that Peter immediately after his deliverance out of prison came unto Mary, where many were gathered together in prayer to entreat the Lord for the enlarging of his liberty, saying unto them, Go show these things unto James, and the rest of the Brethren. Acts 12, • 7. So then, whether we do consider that it is required of us to seek the glory of God, to testify the assurance of our Faith, or to win our brethren; we must acknowledge that it is a spe • iall duty laid upon us to publish the works of God, whereof any of us be witnesses, of the truth whereof we are convinced. Indeed Christ charged the Leaper not to publish and spread abroad the miraculous work of his cle • nsing: but this was to correct the perverse judgment of the people, who regarded more to see his miracles, then to hear his doctrine, and that he might have the greater liberty to teach from the persecutions of the Pharisees. Mar. 1, 45.

[Use 1] Now let us proceed to the uses of this Doctrine. First, it teacheth that we must not slander and discredit any of his works, but say with the sorcerers, This is the finger of GOD, Exod. 8, 19. When the Pharisees heard that Christ cast out the devils by the power of his deity, they back-bited and blasphemed the works of God maliciously, saying, This man casteth out devils no otherwise but thorough Belzebub the Prince of devils. Matth. 12, 24. & 28, 12, 13. So the watchmen set to keep the sepulcher of Christ sure, shown unto the high Priests all the things that were done; who took wicked counsel, and gave large money unto the soldiers to spread abroad that his disciples came by night, & stole him away while they slept. Likewise, when the holy Ghost fell upon the Apostles, that they began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance, they mocked and slandered the work of God, saying, These are full of new wine, Acts 2, 13. so that Peter justified as well the Apostles of Christ, as the miracle of God. In like manner are we to do in like cases: when an evil name is brought upon the works of God's election or reprobation, upon y ^e works of his providence, and protection of his people, we must stand forth to give glory to God and to stop the mouth of iniquity when it is opened against heaven. For if a man be commanded to open his mouth in the cause of the dumb, much more in the cause of God. It is one kind of taking the name of God in vain, to hold our peace when any reason & dispute against God's works. If we deny him any way before men, Christ Jesus will deny us before his Father. We must therefore open our mouths in defense of God and his works, & put the obstinate gainsaiers to silence, & wipe away the slanderous reports raised of them, lest others receive hurt thereby, and to the end God may have the glory and praise of his own work. And albeit we do not always conceive the right cause and reason of them, let us not deride but admire them with the Apostle, Rom. 11, 33. O the deepness of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out? If a man should take upon him to judge those that are out of his liberty, and over whom he hath no authority, and to pronounce sentence upon their doings, would a worldly man think well of this presumption? But it is less wisdom, and greater p • e • umption, to take upon us to rule God, and to give him his lesson, and to enter into judgment of his works. Therefore Elihu wisely teacheth in the book of Job this point; Who hath appointed unto him his way? Or who can say, Thou hast done wickedly? Remember that thou magnify his works, which men behold. Job 36, 23, 24.

Secondly, it is required of us to be diligent [Use 2] markers and observers of the works of God's providence. For how shall he report them & remember them to others, that is not careful to muse upon them, and to mark them himself? Or how shall he open his mouth to declare them, that shutteth his eyes lest he should see them, and stoppeth his cares lest he should hear of them? It standeth us therefore greatly upon, wisely to obs • rue the works of God, and suffer nothing to pass from us, nothing by us, without making profit of it to our selves, & bringing it to the use of others. This wisdom Eliphaz one of the three friends of Job teacheth, having shown that the ungodly shall not escape unpunished, but that God will find them out in their hypocrisy, he addeth, Job 5, 27. Loe, thus have we inquired of it, and so it is, hear this, and know it for thyself. This we are all to mark by continual experience, how God dealeth with the godly, sometimes chastening them, sometimes blessing them, never forsaking them, albeit sometimes leaving them for a season, yet in the end returning in mercy unto them.

Likewise, how he dealeth towards the wicked, thereby to avoid their steps, consider that though they flourish for a time, it is but the pleasure of sin for a season that they enjoy: and always God's judgment in this life arresteth some, and maketh them fearful examples unto others. Thus did the Prophet ponder in his heart the ways and works of God, and profited thereby to his great comfort: as we see, Psal. 37, 35.36. I have seen the wicked strong, and spredding himself like a green Baytree, yet he passed away, and loe he was gone, and I sought him, but he could not be found. Mark the upright man, and behold the just, for the end of that man is peace; but the transgressors shall be destroyed together, and the end of the wicked shall be cut off. And if we will give our hearts to this meditation on the works of God's providence, ruling the world, and disposing all things, we shall see how he always meeteth with the ungodly, though they dignity deep to hide their counsels, and dive down unto the depth and bottom of their devices, yet the hand of the Lord doth find them out, and bringeth to judgment every secret work. So if we shall weigh with wisdom his works toward his own servants, as he doth love them with an everlasting love, so is he always gracious unto them, and maketh all things fall out to further their salvation. This the Wiseman teacheth by his experience, Eccles. 8, 11, 12, 13.

[Use 3] Lastly, let all Fathers of families teach the works of God's mercy, and the works of his judgments, according as they see them to be offered unto them. For to whom should we rather publish them then to our posterity, & the children that come out of our loins? when a Father beholdeth the Lord punishing the ungodly, and taking vengeance on the contemners of his word, the blaspheme • s of his name, the profaners of his Sabbaths, the uncleanness of adulterers, the beastliness of drunkards, the oppression of userers, the perjury of false witnesses, and the cruelty of merciless dealers: should he suffer such public examples to die, and these works of God to sleep in the dust? Nay, seeing God doth single out some, and maketh them examples & admonitions unto others, we ought to whet them upon our children and servants, & teach them thereby to serve the Lord, and to hate those heinous and horrible sins that provoke such great and grievous judgments.

Abraham is commended by the Spirit of God, for this care and conscience of his duty, when he should behold the woeful destructi- of Sodom and Gomorrhah, Genes. 18.19. I know him that he will command his sons, and his household after him that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and judgment, that the Lord may bring upon Abraham, that he hath spoken unto him. This the Prophet urgeth, Psal. 78, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. So the Prophet Joel, or rather the Lord by the Prophet, threatening a grievous plague of dearth and famine, that the field should be wasted, the corn destroyed, the new wine dried up, the oil decayed, and the husbandmen howl, because the harvest of the field should perish, saith, Joel 1, 2, • . Hear • e this. O Elders, and hearken ye all inhabitants of the land, whether such a thing hath been in your days, or yet in the dayers of your Fathers. Tel you your children of it, and let your children show it to their children, and their children to another generation. Thus we see how God requireth of us a diligent consideration of his judgments, seeing he smiteth one to admonish another: we must not account these strokes only as punishments upon the offenders, but as examples offered for the amendment and repentance of others, as our Savior taught his disciples of those that were murdered by Pilate, and of those were slain by the fall of a tower, Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish, Luke 13, 1, 2, 3, 4.

[Verse 28. For a fire is gone out of Heshbon, and a flame from the City of Sihon, and hath consumed Har of the Moabites, &c. ] When war is once begun and set on foot, it is not so easily laid down, neither is the thirst of ambition in a proud man so easily quenched. Therefore this song decla • eth, that when Sihon had assaulted and taken Heshbon, he rested not there but proceeded farther, and led his army against the villages adjoining, dealing with them as he had done with the inhabitants of Heshbon. Thus we see the people bordering upon the Heshbonites, are touched with their ruin, and companions with them in their adue • sity: as when a mighty tree falleth, it throweth down with it the lesser & lower shrubs. Now Moses in this borrowed speech, setteth forth the misery brought upon the Moabites, which like a violent and vehement fire consumeth wheresoever it lighteth. Mark therefore in this place the comparison & similitude which the Spirit of God useth, to express the rage of war, wasting far and near, as a mighty flame of fire. We learn from hence this Doctrine, That great is the misery and mischief of war, whereby blood is shed, Nations are spoiled, Countries are ruinated, Cities are disp •• pled, Murder is committed, and the image of God defaced. And albeit the life be spared, yet liberty is restrained, and oftentimes death is better then b • ndage, and the sword not so bitter as captivity, even to become slaves to them, who are slaves to Satan. This we see expressed in the war of Chedarlaomer, Genes. 14, 5, 6, 7. who coming to chasten the rebellion of Sodom, and other Cities in the plain, he seized upon the people bordering, so that they tasted the bitterness of the sword, being neighbors to the Nations offending against him. This Moses expresseth, Deut. 28, 50, 51, describing the fierceness of the enemies, and the plague of wars; saying, They shall not regard the person of the old, nor have compassion of the young, they shall eat the fruit of thy Cattle, they shall consume the profit of thy land, they shall besiege thee within thy walls, they shall drive thee to eat thy children, the fruit of thy body, during the siege and streightnesse where-with they shall compass thee in thy Cities. Hereunto that Proverb guideth us, used by the King of Israel against such as boasted before the victory, Let not him that girdeth his harness, boast himself, as he that putteth it off. Hence it is, that we read, how thousands and ten thousands are consumed in battle, which devoureth one as well as another, to teach us the casualty and calamity of war.

[Reason 1] The Reasons are not to be forgotten, that we may the better settle this Doctrine in our hearts. First, it is threatened as an heavy plague and fearful judgment to be brought upon that people that set their faces against God, and walk stubbornly in the breach of his commandments. It is one of the arrows of God, which he hath in his quiver, & reserveth to shoot against all the contemners of his Statutes; he will send upon them famine to punish them, evil beasts to spoil them, the pestilence to consume them, & blood to pass through them. This is that which the Lord threateneth, Levite. 26, 25, 31. I will send a sword upon you that shall avenge the quarrel of my Covenant, and when you are gathered in your Cities, I will send the pestilence among you, and ye shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy, & I will make your Cities desolate. If then God proclaim open war against such as bear themselves stoutly and stubbornly against him, if he be at utter defiance with them that despite and despise him, if he denounce against those the day of battle, as a day of wrath, a day of trouble and heaviness, a day of destruction and desolation, a day of obscurity and darkness, a day of clouds and blackness, a day of the Trumpet and alarm against the strong Cities, against the high Towers, and against mighty warriors that their blood shall be poured out as dust, & their flesh made as the dung; it must necessarily follow, that the time of war is the time of woe, yea, of weeping and wailing, and great lamentation of young and old, rich & poor, women and children, babes and sucklings.

[Reason 2] Secondly, great is the benefit of peace, and many are the blessings that come with it and ensue after it. If then peace be a great benefit, then must war needs be acknowledged to be a great want, and a fearful judgment. The peace of a State, is as the health of a body of strong constitution: therefore war is a dangerous disease in anybody political, whē it cannot be purged and washed without blood. We see how Moses among the blessings that shall come upon Israel and overtake thē, reckoneth up peace in their borders, I will send peace in the Land, and ye shall sleep, & none shall make you afraid, and the sword shall not go through your Land. If there be but a iarie in a private house, or a strong faction in any society, it threateneth the ruin thereof. If an house or Citty be divided against it self, it cannot stand. If a kingdom be divided against it self, it is brought to naught. But when God giveth peace and rest to his Church, many blessings come with it and great contentment on all sides, and in all estates; especially the free liberty of the Gospel with the preaching and professing of it, which we should account as the life of our lives. Seeing therefore, on the one side, War is the just wages of great sins; and on the other side, peace bringeth with it many blessings of all sorts, spiritual and temporal, we conclude, that many are the miseries of war.

The uses are in the next place to be thought upon, and application • o be made of this Doctrine. [Use 1] First, let us pray earnestly to God, and call upon him faithfully, to keep from us both wars, and the rumors of wars, and continue peace in our borders, with the free & public use of the Gospel, to us and to our posterities: that there may not be the voice of lamentation lifted up in our streets, weeping & mourning, and great howling, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they were not. Mat. 2, 18. Ier. 31, 15. We live in a plentiful and well-peopled Land, no Nation under heaven is more populous. This is a blessing of God, as Moses declareth, Levite. 26, 9. Likewise Proverbs 14, 28: Yet many times we repine at his mercy, we think the Land will be too little for us, and that we shall not be able to live one for another. He can make room enough for us, if he once send y ^e bright weapons of war, and the glistering sword of the bloody enemy among us. He can make fewer of us and turn our Land into briars & thorns, and make it a place of Salt-pits and Nettles. Then shall a man nourish a young Cow and two Sheep: and for the abundance of Milk that they shall give, he shall eat Butter. The number of men shall then be so small, tha • a few beasts shall be sufficient to nourish the remnant abundantly. Then shall seven women take hold of one man, saying: We will eat our own bread, and will wear our own garments, only let us be called by thy name, and take away our reproach. Let us therefore in this great increase of the land and store of people, acknowledge his mercy, let us rejoice in the society one of another, and pray that we taste not the bitterness of war, & that there be no slaying with y ^e sword, no shedding of blood, no carrying into captivity. This the Prophet teacheth, Ps. 144, desiring God to continue his benefits toward his people, the fruit of the womb, the filling of store-houses, the increase of sheep, & the quietness of peace, Psal. 144, 12, 13, 14, 15. That our sons being as the plants growing up in their youth, and our daughters being as the corner stones, may be the building of the temple: that our corners may be full, and our Oxen strong to labor: that there be no invasion nor going out, nor no crying in our streets: O blessed are the people that be so, yea blessed are the people whose God is the Lord. Where we see, the Prophet prayeth, and directeth us to pray, that there may be no taste of the sharpness and misery of war, nor we know the assaulting of our Cities, nor going out to warfare, that there may be no sorrow of heart, no weeping of eyes, no wringing of hands, no shriking of voices among us. Were it not a woeful and lamentable thing, to see fire without mercy, and without quenching, consuming houses, eating up all things, and sparing nothing? How much more to see, and hear, and feel the affliction of war, when all things are in confusion and combustion? For, this is one great mischief and bitterness of war, that all things are holden to be lawful, and all men make themselves to be lawless. There is no regard of right or equity, of shame or conscience, when many times the soldiers are as hungry as wolves, as cruel as Tigers, as fierce as Lions, as merciless as Bears robbed of their whelps, which spoil in the evening, and leave not the bones until the morning. Liberty is oppressed, good men fear, evil men expect, knowing it is best fishing in troubled water; if there be any place free from tumult, at least there is none void of suspicion and free from jealousy; few then are to be trusted, and none assured; all things in confusion, violence, spoiling, blood, murders outcrying, and nothing else before our eyes, but a lamentable face of all calamities & extremities. The Prophet Zacharias, describing the golden days of a peaceable life, w ^c should be given to the Israelites when they were returned from captivity, saith; Zac. 8, 4, 5. There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand for very age; and the streets of the City shall be full of boys & girls playing in the streets thereof. Then is the mouth of the people filled with laughter, and their tongue with joy, Psal. 46, 9. When the Lord maketh wars to cease unto the end of the world, he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear, & burneth the Chariots with fire. But in the time of war, and in the day of battle, all things are turned topsie-turuý, all things lie open to sacking and pillage, to insolency of soldiers, to desire of revenge, and to most horrible accidents. Then we are constrained to see and lament the slaughter of men, the ravishing of women, the deflowering of virgins, the spoiling of goods, the robbing of houses, the taking of prisoners, the breaking of laws, y ^e defacing of justice, the intermission of sowing, the innovation of estates, the subversion of realms, the desolation of countries, the violation of religion, the destruction of Cities, the effusion of blood, the suffering of famine, and sometimes the extremity of eating children, and always the overthrowing of all order and honesty. Who is able to recount & rehearse the great horror and fear, the sorrow and mourning, the weeping and lamentation, the seditions, tumults, outrages, villainies, insurrections, conspiracies, calamities, dangers, difficulties, and the miserable train of infinite miseries and maladies that war bringeth with it? No marvel therefore, if David preferred the pestilence before the sword, 2 Sam. 24, 14. desiring that he might fall into the hands of the Lord, because his mercies are great; and not fall into the hands of man, whose bowels of pity are instruments of cruelty. Let us therefore pray earnestly and fervently unto God, that we may not have experience of these troubles, nor endure the violence of this fire, and entreat him to continue a gracious God to us and to our posterities forever. This we see fruitfully and profitably practiced by the people of Israel, when the Lord for their idolatry threatened to deliver them no more out of the hands of their enemies, and bad them cry unto the gods which they had chosen, that they might save them in the time of their tribulation: they said unto the Lord, We have sinned: do thou unto us whatsoever please thee, only we pray thee to deliver us this day from our enemies, Judge. 10, 10, 11, 12.

Secondly, let us learn by the horror of the [Use 2] sword, and trouble of war, to be thankful for our long peace and prosperity, and pray for y ^e continuance thereof among us. We may sit everyone under his Vine, and under his Fig-tree; we may rest in peace in our gardens and Orchards, reasoning of the ways, and conferring of the word of the Lord, whilst many of our neighbor-Nations are shaken and tossed with the tempest of wars, and all things round about us are in an uproar. Let us desire God to spare them, and be touched with a feeling of their sorrows. And if there be such fearfulness and devouring in the sword, let us cast off all dissensions and debates, let us cut the cords of all contention, and live peaceably as brethren one with another. Hereunto the Apostle James persuadeth, ch. 3, 15, 16. & 4, 1, 2 This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, and devilish: for where envying & strife is, there is sedition & all manner of evil work. From whence are wars and contentions among you? Are they not hence, even of your pleasures that fight in your members? Let us take heed we give no occasion of contention, nor sow the seeds of division, which in time to come may yield a comfortless crop of cares and conf sions. Let us not go forth hastily to strife, lest thou know not what to do in the end thereof, when thy Neighbor hath put thee to shame. Pro. 25, 8. It is in vain to desire considerations and conditions of peace, when we have laid the foundations of war: like as the bow being drawn, and the Arrow discharged, it is too late to wish it may do no hurt where it falleth. For after that the coals of contention be once kindled, there is no long expectation for the fire to flame, and burn amaine with a swift course, even as when a cloud is gathered to his thickness, the storm of rain that hath been long in breeding, is ready to fall and disperse it self. It belongeth to all wisemen to foresee a mischief before it happeneth, & it is the reward of men unhappy to lament it when it is once felt. The counsel is without fruit that cometh after the fact; it is too late to apply the remedy when the evil is happened. The soldier serveth to no turn, that beginneth to march when the battle is done. The Medicine that is ministered out of time, worketh not to the benefit of the Patient. It is too dangerous to broach a vessel of poison, and have the virtue of the Antidote or counter-poison uncertain, or far to seek. A smoke suffered long to continue, conceiveth a spark, a spark of fire let alone engendereth a flame, and the flame burneth without mercy and measure. Let us therefore resist the first beginnings as it were the first motions of malice and strife. Small things increase by concord, great things fall and come to ruin by discord and disunion. We must therefore desire peace, and follow after it albeit it seem to fly from us, let us pursue it with all our strength vnt • l we overtake it & bring it home as a blessing into our own houses and habitations: as a man of war concludeth, 2 Sam. 2, 26. Shall the sword devour forever? knowest thou not that it will be bitterness in the latter end? how long then shall it be ere you bid the people return from following their brethren? As if he should say, If we shall join army against army, and forces against forces, we shall fall down on every side, one brother shall devour and destroy another without pity and compassion. This serveth to reprove those that provoke to ba • tell without cause, and delight in war as in a matter of sport and play, who delight to shed blood as water. Thus speaketh Abner Captain of the host, 2 Sam. 2, 14. Let the young men now rise and play before us. Whereby we see, that murder is made as a game & pastime to laugh at. Let every man live contented with his own estate. Great is the benefit of contentation. Beware of ambition and aspiring thoughts. The power of many rising suddenly to heighth and Soueraignty, taketh end with a ruin more sudden. They are like to a tree that groweth till he cometh to his height, and then is plucked up by the roots in a moment. The heavy stone commonly ouerwhelmeth it self with his own weight. Whosoever coveteth the fruit, and never considereth the height of the tree whereon it groweth, let him take heed that whiles he laboreth to climb to the top, he fall not with y ^e boughs which he clasps and embraceth with both his arms. It is the part and property of a wise man, to consider always his own estate: whereas the vain ambitious man liveth for the most part in the remembrance & contemplation of those things which make him to forget himself. Let us therefore all labor in our places to quench this thirst, before it do grow to be as a dropsy that can never be cured, especially it standeth great men of high callings upon (even y ^e greatest men of highest callings in hand) to look to this swelling of the heart (an evil whereunto they above all other are most inclined) that they lift not up their hearts against their Brethren, neither forget that they are mortal and frail men.

Lastly, seeing the sword respecteth no person, neither old nor young, neither learned nor [Use 3] unlearned, but destroyeth father and son, maketh the wise widow, and the child fatherless; it is our parts when we see such judgments present or imminent, to humble our selves unto God, to desire him to remove the fearful noise and rumor of war: and in the mean season, to pray that we may use our peace aright, lest he bend his Bow, and shoot his Arrows, and draw his glittering sword upon us. We see how Hezekiah when he saw the host of the King of Ashur, sought y ^e Lord carefully, and prayed unto him to fight their battles, 2 Chro. 32, 20. & 20, 3. so Jehoshaphat when a great multitude banding themselves together, came against him, set himself to seek the Lord, reconciled himself to him, asked counsel of him, & proclaimed a Fast throughout all Judah. Thus the Prophet, Lam. 5, 20. considering that the strong men were trodden down, and the enemy rejoiced at their trouble, prayeth unto God, because the sword devoured without, and the people were led into captivity; Behold (O Lord) how I am troubled: my bowels swell, mine heart is turned within me: for I am full of heaviness, the sword spoileth abroad as death doth at home. We live (as yet) in great plenty and prosperity, we enjoy life and liberty, we sleep quietly in our beds, and rest in our houses in peace; we hear not the sound of the trumpet, the clattering • f armor, the fury of the enemy, the noise of gunshot, the cry of the wounded; we see not the blood of the slain on the right hand, and on the left hand; we know not what the misery of slavery and slaughter meaneth; we do not behold our Cities besieged, our Countries wasted, our Towns entrenched, our walls b • tter • d, our houses fired & consumed; blessed be the great name of our most gracious God therefore, for evermore. Let us then take heed that we abuse not these mercies and good things of Almighty GOD, lest he take them away from us in his fierce wrath and indignation. O, that there were in us wise hearts to consider these things, whilst we dwell safely in these our houses and habitations, and before the enemy approacheth ne • e unto us, and casteth a trench about us. But if we provoke God and make war with him, how can we have peace with men? how can we look to live in safety any longer with our wives and children? This our Savior hath set down, and with • ears taught the Jews long before their destruction came upon them. For when he came near and beheld the City, he wept for it, and passionately said, Luk. 19, 41, 42, 43, 44. O, if thou haddest even known at the least in this day, those things which belong unto thy peace! But now are they hid from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, & keep thee in on every side, and shall make thee even with the ground, and thy children which are in thee: and they shall not leave thee a stone upon a stone, because thou knowest not that season of thy visitation. Let us apply these things unto our selves, and if we desire to live peaceably with men, let us first seek to be at peace with God; and if we would be reconciled to our brother, let us in the first place be reconciled to our God, and then all things shall speak peace unto us.

[Verse 29. Woe be to thee Moab: O people of Chemosh, thou art undone: he hath delivered his sons which escaped, and his daughters into captivity to Sihon king of the Amorites. ] Here the Poet rhetorically turneth his speech to the Moabites, describing their foolish confidence in their dumb Idolles, Psal. 115, 4, 5. Which are the work of men's hands, which have eyes and see not, ears and hear not, they have a mouth and speak not, noses and smell not, hands & touch not, feet and walk not, neither make they a sound with their throat; they that make them are like unto thē and so are all they that trust in them. The Nations of the Gentiles had multitudes of gods, and every Nation his several Idol-go • : As Chemosh was the idol of the Moabites, Baal of the Chaldeans, Ashteroth of the Sidonians, Moloch of the Ammonites, Rimmon of y ^e Syrians, Dagon of the Philistines. These are false gods, and had the godhead or divine nature falsely ascribed unto them, who were not able to save such as did worship them, as the author of this song here declareth, He hath delivered his sons and daughters to captivity, and was not able to deliver them out of the hands of Sihon king of the Amorites. For as the Israelites cried for fire to come from heaven from morning to noon, O Baal hear us: so no doubt did y ^e Moabites for deliverance from their enemies, cal to their idol Chemosh, O Chemosh hear us, but there was no voice, nor any to answer, so that they fell into the hands of the Amorites, and received no profit or benefit by their idol service. Here then we see, how the idolatrous Moabites, worshipping a false god, and trusting in their great Idol, are defeated and destroyed. Hence we learn, That Idolaters lie open to judgment. The worshipping of Images, howsoever it be coloured with false reasons, is the true cause of God's judgments. We see here how the Moabites were rooted out of their Towns and Cities for this sin. Hitherto come the threatenings of the Prophets against the Nations by Isaiah, chap. 46, 1, 2. and Ier. 46 & 44, 7, 8. for their idolatry. We see in Judge. 2, 11. when Israel committed idolatry, & began to cleave to strange gods, and forsook the Lord God of their fathers, God sold them into the hands of their enemies, so that they could no longer stand before them. This was the destruction of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that made Israel to sin: and of Jehu, who set up idolatry after he had destroyed it. This was the cause that the wrath of God brake in upon the Israelites, when they had erected the golden Calf, which sin was revenged with a grievous and horrible slaughter. Hereunto also the Prophet hath relation, Psal. 106, 34, 35. They destroyed not the people as the Lord had commanded them, but were mingled amongst the heathen, and learned their works, and served their Idols, which were their ruin. Thus we see, how idolatry turneth to the destruction of the idolater.

The Reasons follow. First, God is the husband [Reason 1] of his Church, and can no more abide to have his honor and worship communicated to any other, then the husband any partner or fellow in his love. Prov. 6, 35. • ho cannot bear the sight of any ransom, neither will he consent, though thou augment the gifts. Idolatry therefore is spiritual whoredom, and God is a jealous God of his honor and glory, and will not suffer the same to be given to any other, Isaiah 42 8. Exod. 20, 5. This is notably declared, and worthily expressed by the Prophet Hosea, where the idolatry of the Israelites is resembled to the adulterous and whorish woman, that doateth upon her lovers, that forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God: Their mother (saith y ^e Lord by his Prophet) hath played the Harlot, she that conceived them hath done shamefully, &c. As then God is the husband of his C • urch, so our spiritual worship is as a certain marriage of our souls consecrated unto the Lord: & therefore all false and forged worship is spiritual whoredom and adultery toward him. To this purpose speaketh Hosea, ch, 2, 19, 20. I will marry thee unto me forever: yea, I will marry thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, &c. Thus also the Prophet Jeremiah speaketh, ch. 2, 2. Thus saith the Lord, I remember thee with the kindness of thy youth, and the love of thy Marriage, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness in a Land that was not sown.

Secondly, Idols are the works of men's [Reason 2] hands, whether they be of Silver or Golde, they are the work of the Founder: or whether they be carved or graven in stone or timber, they are the hand of the workman: or whether they be wrought in blew silk, or purple, Jeremiah 10, 9. All things are made by cunning men. Hereupon it followeth, that they that depend upon them, and seek help of them, do seek help of flesh, and do make stocks and stones their god, and therefore they cannot prosper, but shall be confounded. This the Prophet Hosea testifieth, chap. 8.8, 9. Israel is devoured, now shall they be amongst the Gentiles as a vessel wherein is no pleasure: for they are gone but to Ashur, they are as a wild Ass alone by himself, Ephraim hath hired lovers.

The Uses are in the last place to be observed. [Use 1] First, this teacheth that the idol is vain; yea, vanity it self. Howsoever the idolater be enamored of it, and greatly dote upon it, yet it shall be a broken reed, which in stead of staying him that leaneth upon it, breaketh in his hand, and the shiuers thereof serve to wound him that leaneth thereon. For if it could deliver any, it should save them th • t have their hope and confidence in it. But such are deceived and deluded to their destruction. This the Prophet Ier. 3, 23, 24. & 10, 15. witnesseth at large in sundry places, Truly the hope of the hills is but vain, nor the multitude of mountains, but in the Lord our God is the health of Israel: for confusion hath devoured our fathers labor, &c. Hereunto cometh that saying, Isaiah 44, 9, 10. All they that make an image are vanity, and their delectable things shall nothing profit: and they are their own witnesses that they see not, nor know, therefore they shall be confounded who have made a god, or molten an Image that is profitable for nothing. They are not therefore lay-men's books, neither have any profitable use, but an abhominable abuse, being vanity and the work of errors, in the time of their visitation they shall perish. The Assyrians were famous, or rather infamous for Idols, and great boasters of thē; yet the Prophet showeth they should come to confusion: hereupon the use is inferred, what profiteth the Image? For the maker thereof hath made it an Image and a teacher of lies, though he that made it trust therein, when he maketh dumb Idols: woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; and to the dumb stone, Arise up, it shall teach thee: behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and yet there is no breath in it. Thus the vanity of Idols is set out by the destruction of the Idolaters.

[Use 2] Secondly, let them labor to see their own blindness. It is a great judgment of God upon thousands and ten thousands in the world, that worship the works of men's hands, and yet think themselves wise. We see also the preposterous and disordred desire of the children, to follow the idolatrous ways of their parents: whereupon it cometh to pass, that they excuse their sin by the example of their parents; and because they were borne in it, they are resolute to die in it, never examining how their religion standeth with consent of the Scriptures. Thus we see, that all idolaters are blind, and because they say they see therefore their sin remaineth. This the Prophet teacheth, Isaiah 42, 17, 18, 19. They shall be turned back, they shall be greatly ashamed that trust in graven Images, and say to the molten Images, Ye are our gods. Hear ye deaf, and ye blind regard that ye may see. Who is blind, but my servant? or deaf, as the messenger that I sent? Who is blind as the perfect, and blind as the Lord's servant? If therefore we would not grope in ignorance, as the blindeman that g • opeth in the dark, let us fly Idolatry, and keep our selves from Idols.

Lastly, let us bless and praise the name of [Use 3] God, whē he delivereth his people from idolatry, to serve him purely and sincerely. Let us ever be mindful of his mercy, and walk as a thankful people redeemed out of so great a thralldom. This sacrifice of praise we see required in the Prophet: for having set down the folly & vanity of Idolaters, who cut down a Tree, warm themselves with part thereof, roast their meat with another, and with a third part make a god and worship it make it an Idol, and bow unto it, pray unto it and say Deliver me, for thou art my God: he acknowledgeth God's great mercy in forgiving these sins of the people, Isaiah 44, 21, 22, 23, Thou art my servant, O Israel forget me not: I have put away thy transgressions like a cloud, and thy sin as a mist, &c. Behold the beastliness and brutishness of these god-makers, not much unlike y ^e Romish idolaters, who knead their dough, & of one part they make bread, and a god of the other. If this be the dot • ge of idolaters, we have great cause offered unto us, to magnify the mercy of God toward us, that hath freed us from such devilish devices of the false worship of God. He hath restored to us the true worship of God according to his holy word, he hath rooted out the Idols that were set up to be adored, he hath given us the Scriptures in our mother tongue, he hath free • d us from the burden and bondage of the Popes Decrees and Decretals, he hath pulled down the great idol of the Mass, and hath abolished the manifold heresies and corruptions of false Doctrine. What shall we now render to the Lord for all these tokens and testimonies of his love toward us, but take up the cup of salvation, and praise with tongue and heart the name of God, acknowledging his only goodness in delivering us from the bondage of Idolatry; and laboring to bring forth y ^e fruits of his Gospel, to his glory, and our own comfort in Christ Jesus.