THE first word of my Text For, (For Introduction shewing the coherence. thou hast broken the yoke of his bur­den) doth tell us this hath depen­dence upon what is laid down be­fore; If you please to looke into it, you'l find it to be thus: The Lord in the former Chapter had threatned the terriblest calamitie that ever came upon the Jewish [Page 2] nation, a wofull darke night of affliction of severall hun­dreds of yeers was now beginning, and such calamities were threatned, as the Lord professed that many men amongst them, when they look'd up to heaven, and saw nothing but darknesse there, nothing but confusion upon earth, they should rave and be mad, they should curse their God that would not helpe them, curse their King that could not helpe them, should bee driven into utter darknesse; but yet notwithstanding in the beginning of this Chapter the Lord saith, that unto those that feared him, to his own people, the darknesse and uncomfortable­nesse of it, should not bee so great, as they had formerly met with in some lesser afflictions; for God did (as i [...] were) create a new Star, that should shine unto his peo­ple, all that long and darke night, that is, a most glori­ous promise of Jesus Christ, and salvation by him, which is laid downe in the seven first verses of this Chapter, and there are severall degrees, or breakings out of the light of this comfort, I'le but name them so farre as may leade me to the Text. First,

The Lord tells them whence this comfort should come, there should a glorious light shine to them, in the second 1. verse; the people that walked in darknesse should see a great light, they that dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined, which is the pro­mise of Jesus Christ setting up his Gospel amongst them, as it is expresly interpreted in the fourth of Matthem. This Text seemes to bee a propheticall description of Caper­naum, Matth▪ 4. 15, 16. where Christ first set up his Ministery some hun­dreds of yeers before it was built, which stood in the land of Galile by the Sea side in the way leading to the Gen­tiles. Secondly,

The next degree is, what the comfort is, that they 2. [Page 3] should have from this light, in the third verse, they should have great joy by it, the Lord had formerly more mul­tiplied their nation, but never gave them more joy then now they should have, though they should bee in a very afflicted condition, yet they should have as much joy in the Gospel of Christ, as ever that nation injoyed in the dayes of David or Solomon; though now they should live after a precarious manner, and should be tributaries to all the foure great Monarchies of the world in their suc­cession, first to the Assyrian, then to the Persian, then to the Grecian, and then to the Roman, and all this time, a space of some 700. yeers, they should bee a despised, contemned people, yet from the Lord Christ and the promise of the Gospel, should they have as much joy as ever they had when their Nation was most enlarged, yea such joy that it should bee like the joy of harvest, or the joy that Souldiers have when they divide the spoile, that is the second degree; now my text is the third degree or breaking out of this glorious comfort, and that tels you,

What the mercy shall bee that shall bee the cause of so 3. much joy; what it is that should fill them with so much joy, why hee would breake every yoke of their burden, every staffe that lay upon their shoulders, every rod of their oppressors, that whipped them, hee would break all as hee did once doe it in the day of Midian, he will burn up their enemies with fewell of fire, hee would free them from them all, and tread them under their feet; then the last branch of all, and the height of their comfort is,

That Christ will not only break other yokes, but would 4. put the yoke of his own sweet and easie government upon them, himselfe will bee their King; To us a Son is given, to us a child is borne, upon whose shoulder the govern­ment [Page 4] shall bee, his name is Wonderfull, Counsellor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of peace; and in these things should the hearts of Gods people re­joyce in their most afflicted times. Thus stands the depen­dence of my Text, so that these two verses that I have read, containe the cause of all the joy that the people of God should finde in Christ in their afflicted times; and Scope and parts of the Text. there are two branches of the Text to bee handled. First,

Here is the blessing that should bee conferred upon them, in these words, thou hast broken the yoke of his bur­den, 1 Which are A great delive­rance of the Church. the staffe of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressors: that is the mercy they should receive. Secondly, 2 The manner how i [...] must be wrought.

Here is the manner how this should bee done; and that is laid downe, First,

It should bee as in the day of Midian; that is, as in the day when in Gideons time with 300. men with lamps and 1. Judges 7. pitchers the Lord destroyed an innumerable multitude of Midianites; so would the Lord Christ now worke this great deliverance, that he promises to his people. Then, Secondly,

The manner of it is yet more clearely and fully laid downe in the 5. verse, by shewing that the way of Gods 2. working of this, shall bee diverse from the manner of other deliverances: Every battell of the Warriour is with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood, but this shall bee with burning and fewell of fire; the meaning whereof in a few words is this, This victory that God would give his people, should not bee in the way of hu­mane helpe to doe it, as Nations get victories one over another by bringing one a greater Army then the other, or better disciplined or trained men then the other, or with pollicy and valour, with shouting and making the others lie wallowing in their blood, and so mans Arme to [Page 5] bee the instrument of it; no, this should bee with fewell or burning of fire, that is, it should be done by Gods own hand; for what the Lord doth immediatly himselfe, that is ordinarily said to bee done by fire, or fewell of fire, it hath been the ordinary way of Gods manifesting himself by devouring fire, when he threatens to shew himselfe hee will come in devouring fire, seldome hath hee appeared, but it hath been either in smoak or fire; so then this ex­pression signifies it should not bee done by mans helpe, Interpretation of the Text. but the Lord alone would come and doe it by his owne immediate hand.

Let us now first inquire into the matter, what it is that 1. they should injoy; the Lord would break the yoke of their burden, the staffe of their shoulder, the rod of their oppres­sor: And here we must consider, First,

What this signifies, what doth God intend in this? 1.

For the Grammaticall meaning the yoke of his burden, this is an Hebrewisme, and signifies his burdensome yoke, 1. hee will breake his burdensome yoke, that is, the heavy yoke that was put upon his shoulders, by those that had enslaved him; the staffe of his shoulder, that is, the staffe wherewith his shoulders used to be beaten; the rod of his oppressor, that is, either the Scepter of those Tyrants that kept them under often expressed by a rod; or otherwise the rod of correction, wherewith the enemies that kept them under did use to discipline them: and by all this con­geries of words, these severall expressions of yokes, and burdensome yokes, and rods and staves, the Lord doth signifie the greatnesse of that misery and bondage, that his people should lie under at that time, when Jesus Christ should come to deliver them. What are those yokes, and staves, and rods that are here meant? I an­swer, that it will appeare cleer unto every one that markes [Page 6] the Text, that here are two things intended.

Breaking of the temporall yokes, the yokes that they 1. should lie under from the Assyrians, the Babylonians, and so the successive Kingdomes and Empires, that should keepe them under subjection and bondage; but princi­pally here is meant,

The spirituall yokes of sinne, and death, and wrath, and curse; and that both these are meant is cleare in the Text; 2. that the outward yokes are literally meant is obvious to every ones eye that doth but compare this with the two former chapters, and all the chapters that follow, for five or six of them together: in the eighth chapter the Lord threatned hee would bring the Empire of Assyria upon them, and the Assyrians should carry them into captivitie, and fill their land with waters up to the necke; and for a great many chapters together from the seventh chap­ter, I thinke there is not one but there is somewhat of the Assyrian Empire that should lie heavie upon the backe of Gods people; that is the literall, but another thing in­tended is, the mysticall, the spirituall Babylonish yoke, the devill and sinne, and death and hell; Jesus Christ will breake all these yokes from off the neck of his people. And that the spirituall is intended as well and more then the temporall, is cleer both by what goes before, the preaching of the Gospel should doe it, and by all that followes, for unto a us Child is borne, to us a Sonne is gi­ven: both these sorts of yokes would Christ beake by his owne hand; if you would have it yet a little more cleer, I conceive the deliverance most immediatly intended in the letter was the destruction of that great Army of Sena­cherib 2 Chron. 32. 2 Kings 18. 19. Esay 36. 37. that came in Hezekiahs time, which came to swal­low them up, and was destroyed with Gods hand imme­diatly from heaven, which (as all the rest of the Jewes de­liverances) [Page 7] was intended as a Type, to shew how God will breake all other the yokes of those that lie heavie up­on his inheritance. This then for the meaning of it, That whatsoever enemies should rise up against the Church or people of God, however they may keepe them under for a while, Christ hath a purpose, and will in his owne due time break them, and their yokes in peeces, and he will doe it in a strange way, by his own hand, in a way that shall bee very easie to him to worke, but very hard for them; either to resist or to beare. This is the plaine scope of the Text; Now I proceed to some matter of instructi­ons; and first, if you looke upon these words, as they stand in their connexion or dependence with the former verse, they joy before thee as the joy in harvest, and as men rejoyce when they divide the spoile, for thou hast broken every yoke, the yoke of his burden, the rod of his oppres­sor; because God destroyed his enemies that would have destroyed him, therefore they shall joy like the joy in harvest; learn one lesson from it, very sutable to the oc­casion of our meeting; namely,

That the Lord doth expect that his people should Obs. From the con­nexion of these words with the former, Gods people should rejoyce when God breakes their enemies & their yokes in sunder, Psal. 126. greatly rejoyce when he doth break the yoke of their ene­mies, and the staffe and rod wherewith they whip Gods people when God uses to defeat the plots, and enterpri­ses of wicked men against his servants, hee expects that the hearts of his people should bee fill'd with joy, and their tongues overrun with his praises. There is abun­dance of evidence for this in the Scripture, in the 126. Psalme you shall finde the Church exulting, her mouth was fill'd with laughter, and her tongue with joy; every one that look'd in the face of Gods people saw them have a merry countenance; why? because God had bro­ken the captivitie of Babylon, hee had brought back the [Page 8] captivity of his people, and broken in peeces the enemies that kept them under, so likewise did Moses and all the Is­raelites, Exod. 15. when they saw the Egyptians sinke like a stone into the depth of the Sea, in the 15. of Exodus, and Pha­roah and all his Chariots drown'd in the red Sea, they all lift up their voyce, and sung to God praise and thanks­giving in the highest, I will sing unto the Lord, for hee hath triumphed gloriously, the horse and his rider hath hee throwne into the Sea: So did Deborah, and Barak in the fifth of Iudges, when Sisera and his host was broken be­fore Judges 5. the servants of God, they rejoyced, and prayed God it might ever bee so, that all Gods enemies might so perish, and all his people might so rejoyce; thus you shall finde it prophesied in the New Testament, in the Vers. 19. 19. of Revelations, you shall reade in the latter end of the 18. chapter of the destruction of the Babylonian party, my­stically Babylon, the Popish party, the Antichristian par­tie, the Malignant Church that is risen up against the Church of Christ, there I say you shall reade the ruine of it, and the meanes of it, the Saints helpe to doe it, and you shall there see all the Kings of the earth weeping and howling, and all that were friends to the harlot were con­doling one with another for that great losse; but in the 19. chap. in heaven, that is, in the Church of Christ, there was nothing but Hallelujah, praise yee the Lord, for the Lord hath avenged himselfe, and when her smoke arose up for evermore, againe they say Hallelujah to see Rome burning, and the instruments that would have oppressed Gods people destroyed, and troden under foot; it was Ʋse. A notable try­all of our hearts whether they be right to Christ and his Church. Hallelujah to the hearts of all that feare God: This I doe but touch, but,

It may bee a notable tryall of your spirits, for certain­ly, it is a signe of a gracious spirit to refuse to bee com­forted [Page 9] in Zions ruines, and to refuse to be sadded in Baby­lons ruines; to finde a soule, or a people that will hang their harpes upon the willowes, and will mourn and la­ment, and rather wish that their right hand forget their cunning, then to sing one cheerfull song while Gods peo­ple are in Babylon, and yet to find them full of joy and rejoycing, when God is breaking the yokes of oppressors, and treading them under feet, that rise up against them; this I say, is an argument of a heart that joynes with Je­sus Christ, when they fulfill that of the 66. of Isaiah, Re­joyce Esay 66. 10. with Ierusalem all yee that mourne for her; And that of Psal. 58. 10. The righteous shall rejoyce when hee seeth the vengeance: and on the other side, it is an argu­ment of a base spirit, of a spirit malignant against Christ and his cause, that is either rejoycing when Gods people are troden under foot, or malignes those that are the meanes or instruments of delivering of Gods people, that with Sanballat and Tobiah, are vexed and grieved at the heart when they see God raised up any that may be for salvation to his people; but it is a token withal that as their hearts are not with Jesus Christ, but against him, so they shall perish in the ruine of his enemies: This I doe but point at from the connexion, they shall joy like the joy in harvest, for Christ hath broken the yoke of their oppres­sors, broken the yoke of the enemy and the enemies themselves, and the enemies themselves together; but I come to the words, which I shall handle onely as they respect their temporall and outward deliverances; and under that consideration there are these two lessons that I intend by the Lords assistance to handle: The first is,

That the Lord doth sometimes leave his owne people Two doctrines from the de­liverance pro­mised in the Text. to lie under heavy yokes, to have the staves and rods of oppressors lie upon their backs and shoulders: Secondly, and principally,

[Page 10] That Jesus Christ will in his due time breake in sunder all the yokes that lie upon his peoples neck, all the staves that beate their shoulders, all the rods that whip their backes, Christ hath a time wherein he will break them all, both yokes and oppressors together, and set his people free from them; this second I most intend; a word or two of the first.

That the Lord doth sometimes leave his owne people to bee under the tyranny of them that hate them: I say 1 Doct. Christ some­times leaves his own people under grievous yokes. Esay 8. 8. his own people (for this was Emanuels land, you'l read it called by the very name of Emmanuel in the eighth chap­ter) the Assyrian shall come and fill the breadth of thy land O Emmanuel; they were Emmanuels people that should have these terrible yokes put upon them: to understand this lesson, bee pleased to premise thus much; That it is of all judgements one of the most ter­rible and uncomfortable that ever a people can be exposed to, to have those that hate them to tyrannize over them, that was Davids prayer, I have done justice and judge­ment, Psal. 119, 121. give me not up to mine oppressors: O Lord deli­ver mee from that judgement, that I bee not left to wicked men, to put yokes upon my neck, to beate my shoulders; and God used to threaten it as one of the se­verest plagues that ever should come upon his people, when hee was angry with them, that hee would give them up, that they that hated them should beare rule over them: and truely it will easily appeare to bee one Esay 3. 12. Deut. 28. 29. 33. Psal. 106. 41. 42. Hos. 5. 11. of the terriblest judgements of all, because it is a mise­ry that is opposite and contrary to the greatest mercy that can bee enjoyed upon earth; which is to have ru­lers and governors, such as are over a people, to bee as a Sun or a Shield, as a Shepheard, as a Protector, as a Fa­ther, for these are names whereby the Spirit of God de­seribes [Page 11] good Magistrates & rulers, to give such to a people as may defend every one in his own right, protect the fatherlesse and widow, and see that every one have justice and judgement, that there may be no complaining in the streets of a people; but that they may live and serve God in godlinesse and honesty, in peace, to bee preserved in security and tranquillity, O happy are the people tbat are in such a case, faith the Spirit of God in the 144. Psalme; Psal. 144. 12, 13. now if this bee the greatest earthly mercy, then for God to give up a people, or to let them be given up to the judge­ment that is contrary to it, that their shepheards should bee like them in the 34. of Ezekiel, who should kill the Ezek. 34. fat, and tread under feet the leane, that should pluck off the wooll, and teare off the skinne; that should bee as they are described in the 7. of Micah, as briars and thornes Micah 7. 34. that should rend and teare the people that are under them, when the Lord shall give men up to such a condition, that those that should defend them, should enter into the field of the fatherlesse, and undoe a man and his neighbour, without mercy and compassion, this of all judgements in the world is one of the cruellest, and the heaviest that a people can bee given up to: now I tell you that God sometimes leaves his owne people to this condition, there are abundance of examples, and I should spend the time needlesly to receite them to you, because you cannot bee ignorant of them; so they were in Egypt, when their lives were made burdensome to themselves, by reason of the heavy yoke of bondage that lay upon them; so they were in the times of the Iudges, oftentimes an enemy comes in, carries away the harvest that they are ready to reape, sometimes carries away the corne they had gather'd into their barnes, mightily oppressed them, put heavy yokes upon them; so was it in Babylon, if you reade but the [Page 12] fifth of Lamentations, it will make you weep to consider Lamentar. 5. per totum. the sad complaint that the Church makes there, Our in­heritance is turned to strangers, our houses to aliants, wee have drunke our water for money, our wood is sold unto us, our necks are under persecution, we labour and have no rest, servants rule over us; wee eate our bread with the perill of our lives, Princes are hanged up by the hand, young men are taken to grinde, and the children fell under the wood, &c. such abundance of examples there are that I shall not need to prove it, onely let me a little discover to you out of the Word, for what causes the Lord uses to leave his owne people to this terrible judgement: I finde three For what sins God useth to give up his people into the hands of tyrants and oppressors. cleer causes why God oftentimes hath left his own peo­ple to be given up to oppressors, to Tyrants, to put such heavy yokes upon their necks, their states, their conscien­ces, their liberties, and the first & greatest & most frequent is when God himself offer'd to be the King and ruler of his people, to put the yoke of his government upon their For refusing to be under his government he gives them up to be under cruell gover­ners. necks, a yoke that should be sweet and easie, honorable & profitable, and his people cast off Gods yoke, would not be under that, then hath the Lord frequently let them fall under the yoke of some others, that they might know the difference betwixt being Gods servants, and the ser­vants of other men; take but two instances of this, one in the 2 Chronicles 12. it was in Rehoboams time, when 2 Chron. 12. 8. Shishak the King of Egypt came against them, though Egypt and Iudah had been in a league, articles of peace betwixt them, Shishak comes against them, and brings a mighty Army, and Rehoboams subjects knew not what to doe, they cryed to God, they prayed the Lord to deliver them, no (saith God) I will not give you whol­ly up to a spoile, but you shall bee the servants of the Kings of Egypt; why? because they shall know the diffe­rence [Page 13] of my service, and the service of the other Nations; they shall see whether they had not been better to have let mee bee their King, then to bring those to rule over them, who I am now resolved shall bee over them for a while; There is another terrible instance in the 11. of Zachariah; you shall see the purpose of that Zach. 11. ope­ned. Chapter is to signifie these two things: First, that Jesus Christ would come to bee a Prince and a Ruler over his people, as a faithfull and good shepheard, they would none of him, they sold him for 30. peeces of Silver, which as it is noted, was but the price that a slave used to bee sold at; Christ the Lord himselfe came from heaven, offer'd himselfe to them to bee their shepheard, and they sold him for 30. peeces of Silver; A gooly price that I was sold at, saith the Lord! Well, but what becomes of this? the rest of that chapter tells you, that hee will give them other shepheards that shall teare them to purpose; in the 6. verse, I will give them up every man into the hand of his neighbour, I will give them up into the hand of their King; who was that? it is plaine that the Ro­man was their King at that time, because Christ came at that time when the Roman was over them, now when Jesus Christ would have been their King, and they say nay, we have no King but Caesar, God therefore gives them up into the Romans hands, and then they shall have Shepheards that shall teare them to purpose; because they would have none of the Lord Christ, the Lord would give them up into such hands as should discipline them after another manner; that is one cause, when God 2. offers himselfe to bee their ruler, and they will not have When his people are unthankfull for good go­vernours, hee gives them up into the hands of oppressors. him to bee their ruler, then God puts other yokes upon them. Againe secondly, another cause I finde is this,

When the Lord hath raised up to a people good Ru­lers, and Magistrates, that under them (though possibly [Page 14] with many humane frailties) they might bee ruled in godlinesse and honesty according to Gods wayes, and the people have been ungratefull for them; the Lord then gives them up to the hands of others, that they shall not bee able to shake off, when they will; so you find it in the example of Gideon; when Gideon had delivered the Israe­lites, they came to him, and say be our King; not I (saith hee) God must bee your King, (which by the way, let me interpret it to you, he meant, he would not change that forme of government, that God had set up in that Com­monwealth, which was this, that every Tribe had their owne Aristocraticall government, that is, the chief men of their Tribe did rule all, as it might be the Maior, Al­dermen, Common-Councell men in every Tribe, and when a time of speciall danger came, that an enemy inva­ded them, God from heaven used extraordinarily to raise up some Judge, & that danger being over the government of the Commonwealth went in the old channell) they would have had Gideon to be their King, No (saith hee) not I, nor my sonnes, but you shall have God to bee over you; well, but when Gideon died they forgot Gideon and they would have a King, and tooke Abimelech, who proved a cruell tyrant to them, whereupon Iotham in the 9. of Iudges, (when all the people were together) tells Judges 9, 7, &c. them a tale; The trees (saith he) would have a King, and they went to the Olive, and the Vine, and the fruitful trees to rule over them; No (say they) we must keep every one our own ranke, I cannot leave my fatnesse nor my sweet­nesse, &c. But a King the trees will have, and their King proves a Bramble, so (as his speech intimates) will it prove unto you for your ingratitude to God for Gideon and unto Gideons family, it will come to passe that this bramble your King shall first rend and teare you, and af­terwards [Page 15] you and your King consume one another, and this curse or prophesie came upon them, and for that very cause. Another like instance wee have 1 Sam. 8. God had raised up Samuel in a time of much trouble, to be a Judge and Saviour to the Jewes, they took occasion upon some 1 Sam. 8. miscariages of Samuels sonnes to cast him off, and they would have a King after the manner of the Nations round about them, and therefore God in his wrath gave them Ho [...]ea 13. 11. Saul, who proved a Tyrant: Ingratitude for good gover­nours is one cause why God gives people up to such op­pressors. And then thirdly, I finde,

When people use to teare and devoure one another in 3. their petty precincts, when as any one gets a little power When peo­ple are ty­rants and op­pressors one o­ver another, God useth to give: him into the hands of oppressors. Esay 9. 21. in his hand, hee loves to put a yoke upon the neck of his brother, for this doth the Lord send them those that shall put yokes upon them all; so you find it in this very chap­ter, in the latter end of it, Manasses bites Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasses, and these two confederate together to bite Iudah, and for this the Lord gives them up to Sena­cherib, and he bites & devours them all; Thus was it also, Ieremy 6. 6. when the people were given wholly to op­presse Jer. 66. 7. 23. one another, the City was wholly oppression in the midst of it, violence and spoile, griefe and wounds were every where found, then was Ierusalem a Citie to bee visi­ted by them who should gleane them as a vine, who should be cruell to them and shew no mercy. Thus you see the Lord sometimes leaves his people under heavy yokes, yokes put upon their lives, estates, consciences, liberties, when they will not bee under Gods government, when they are not thankfull for good governours, when they according to their own power will be tyrannicall and op­pressive one to another. I shall not stay upon the Appli­cation of this, I onely say of it, as Christ of the Cup he Application. [Page 16] was to drink, Father, if it bee possible let this cup passe from me; Lord let this Cup passe from us, let not our God give us up to spoyle, to confusion, to oppression; for I am too well assured that in all these things I have spoken, wee have deserved to drinke this cup, and our sinnes cry loud in the eares of God for it; and whatsoever you may say of the two latter, I am confident you'l all beare mee witnesse wee have highly deserved it in the first of these; the Lord hath offer'd to England the government of his own Scepter, the government of his Gospel, & he is shew­ing us the way how he will rule us in Ecclesiasticall things, but alas, there is not a thing under heaven more abo­minable to the people of this Land, then to think that they should have such a yoke put upon them, though the aime and end of it bee onely to make them holy; but we will have none of it, the thing we will have, is, to live as we list, wee will not have this man rule over us; the Lord grant wee bee not broken with other yokes; And as for ingratitude for our other Magistrates and Rulers, and for our biting and devouring one another, the Lord knowes it is to bee found in every corner of the Land; I onely mention these things that in this day of rejoycing for mer­cies received, you may all joyne in prayer that the Lord bring not this evill upon us. Thus briefly for the first; the second lesson which I mainely aime at is,

That howsoever the Lord sometimes lets his people lie under heavy and terrible yokes, yokes upon their lives, 2 Doct. Christ will in due time break all the yokes which lie upon his peoples necks. names, estates, liberties, consciences, (call them by what names you will) yet Jesus Christ hath a time, when hee will break them all; Thou hast broken, it was not broken yet, but God uses to speak of his mercies intended for the Church, in the preterperfect tense, as things already done, because they were so sure; the Lord Christ will [Page 17] breake the yoke of their burden, the staffe of their shoul­der, the rod of their oppressor; when the Lord doth at any time leave his people in this sad condition which I have spoken of, hee never puts them out of his own hand, though hee may deliver them into the hands of others, hee alwayes keeps the line in his owne hand, that the ad­versary cannot doe what they list, they are bounded by him, and it is not for want of love or of power, that the Lord lets any such yoke ever come upon the neck of his people, but onely from his owne will, and from his own wisedome, the Lord orders it so, that the heaviest thing that betides them, shall never hurt a haire of their heads, as Christ hath it in Luke; though some of them be put Luke 21. 1 [...]. to death, not a haire of their heads shall perish, hee never gives them so into the hand of wicked men, as to put them out of his owne hand, or to cease his owne care; but this doctrine holds out a further mercy, that though the Lord sometimes puts them into the hands of wicked men, and lets them be his rod to scourge them, beate them, pinch them, thresh them, yet in his due time hee will breake all those yokes, and the yokers together, all such as put them upon his peoples necks, they & their yokes shall all perish, for both of them are equally intended, as it is in the next words, as in the day of Midian, not onely the people of Israel were saved from Midian, but the Midianites de­stroyed also; and so in Senacheribs time, not onely the people delivered, but the enemies destroyed; now that the Lord will doe it, blessed be his name, there are 1000. promises that it shall bee so, and as great a cloud of in­stances, to prove it hath been so; Egypts yoke was bro­ken, the Philistims broken, Ashur and Babylon broken, yea the ruine of all the kingdomes of the earth who have successively laine heavy upon his Church and people doe [Page 18] all beare witnesse to this truth, that the rod of the wicked Psal. 125. 3. shall not alwayes rest upon the back of his people. I shall not inlarge my discourse upon this, because I thinke it is a knowne theame, every one that hath read the Scriptures can give proofes of it, I shall onely present to your consideration two or three Texts, one is that of Isa. 49. 24. The Lord promised in the former Verses a great inlarge­ment, Esay 49, 24, 25, 26. increase & prosperitie, so that their Land should be too narrow for them, & Kings and Queens should bow un­to them, now he knowing how hard it would bee for his people to beleeve this, because of the great bondage they lay under, and the utter improbability of getting out of that state, brings them in in this 24. verse, objecting thus, Alas, our miseries plead prescription over us, our hope is gone, shall the prey be taken out of the hand of the mighty, or the lawfull captive delivered? now our adversaries say, we are a lawfull prey, we are prisoners of warre, and they can plead right as well as might to bring us under, and now shall wee ever bee delivered? yes saith the answer of God, even the captive of the mighty shall bee delivered, and the prey of the terrible shall bee taken out of his hand, for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children, and all flesh shall know that I the Lord am thy Saviour: and in the 51. of Esay after hee had pro­mised to consume their enemies as a moth eates a gar­ment, Esa. 51. 13, 14. and that his people should returne with the voyce of singing unto Sion, hee then chides their feare and un­beleefe, Why fearest thou a worme that shall die, why fearest thou because of the fury of the oppressor, as if hee were rea­dy to destroy? and where is the fury of the oppressour? alas it's gone as a puffe of wind: then followes, the captive ex­ile hastneth that hee may bee loosened, that hee may not die in the pit, nor that his bread should faile, hee feares lest he [Page 19] should starve or die in his bondage, and therefore makes hast out of it; but Gods people shall not need to make such hast, their seasonable deliverance is sure enough; ma­ny other Scriptures speak this truth as plainely; But that which I chiefly aime at for cleering this doctrine, is, the discussing of two questions, the one is,

1. When the Lord uses to doe this; 2. How hee doth it. For the first, that hee will deliver his people from all their oppressors, is not to be doubted, but when the Lord will doe it, that is the time that every sad soule Quest. 1. When Christ useth to deli­ver his people. cries after, How long Lord, holy and true, doest thou not avenge us? or when Lord shall it bee? I an­swer,

Though it bee not for us to search curiously into the times and seasons that the Father keeps in his owne bo­some, Answer to the first. as you have it in Acts 1. 7. yet the Lord hath left very comfortable prognosticks in his Word, whereby wee may guesse when the time of the deliverance of Gods He alwayes doth it in the best time. people from their bondage is even at hand; certainly it will come in the best time, in the fittest time, but when that time doth appropinquate, drawes nigh, you shall find it cleer in the Word by these three things; the And that time may be known to approach. one is,

The Lord ordinarily makes that the time of his brea­king When the rage of his and their enemies is highest. the power of the enemies of his Church, when they are fill'd most with rage and fury against the Church, when they breath out nothing but slaughter, and threat­nings against them, blaspheme not onely them, but their God, and their profession, and their way, when they are risen up to that height that their sinnes are full against God, and their rage against Gods people, that is the time when the Lord suddenly uses to break out and crush his enemies; I might give you many examples of this in the [Page 20] book of God, take that expression in Ieremiah 30. 17. Jer. 30. 17. for one, the Lord would speedily come to deliver his peo­ple, but why? even because they said, This is Zion, whom no man cries for; Zion was then a scorned company, I will therefore (saith hee) restore healing to them; therefore would hee come, because the enemy said, this is Zion that no body cares for, every one can tread it under foot; So likewise, Ezek. 25. 3. because the Ammonites said Aha against his Sanctuary, against the Land of Israel and against the house of Iudah, when they went into captivitie, Behold I will therefore deliver them, &c. and Ezek. 28. 67. because the King of Tyrus had set his heart as the heart of God, therefore God would bring enemies upon him. What need I multiply examples? you shall find it was thus to all the people that ever had Gods peo­ple under them, goe from Egypt, to those of Syria, Pale­stina, to the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Grecians, the Romans, you shall find in them all, that when their rage was most furious against Gods people, then was the time neer that God used to breake them, and deliver his people from them. Secondly, another time is,

When the Lord by the threshings of their enemies 2. hath purged the chaffe out of his people; when the Lord When Gods people are humbled and seek his face and favour. hath by delivering his people up into the hands of wicked men wrought in their hearts a spirit of repentance, a spirit of humiliation, a spirit of Prayer, a spirit of looking unto God, the Lord never stayes long before he doth deliver them; I beseech you search the Scriptures, and you will find that the morning starre is not a more infallible argu­ment of the day, of the Sunnes approach or rising, then a spirit of humiliation and prayer powered upon Gods people, is an argument of their deliverance at hand: The burden of Hadrach, and Damasous, Tyre and Sidon, ruine Zath. 9. 1. &c. [Page 21] to them is prophesied of in the 9. of Zachariah, but when should it bee? When the eyes of the Tribes are towards the Lord, when God puts it into the hearts of his people to looke to God, to humble themselves and seek his favour, the Lord is then at hand, to ruine their enemies and de­liver them: So also in the 102. Psalme, Vers. 13. Thou Psal. 102. 13. shalt arise and have mercy upon Zion, marke the phrase, Thou shalt arise, it is somewhat akin to that place of Isaiah, where the Lord saith, Aske me of things to come, and concerning my sonnes and daughters command yee mee; so the people of God come in, Thou shalt arise and have mercy, why? what makes them so confident? the set time is come, the time of deliverance of Zion is come, even the set time is come; how can they tell that? thy servants mourne over the dust of it, thy servants are com­passionate, they pitie, they poure out their soules, and mourne to God, and out of this; the Church could set downe the conclusion, the set time is come for it, when the Lord hath prepared his people, and humbled them: And then thirdly,

When hee hath broke all other meanes of deliverance, so that they see no hope or meanes of helpe in any other, 3. the heart of man cannot thinke how prone even Gods And when all hope of deli­verance by any other meanes is cut off. servants are to relie upon other Crutches besides God, and to catch as sinking men at every twig, and every Bul­rush, but when the Lord hath broke all their probabili­ties, and expectations elsewhere, that there is none shut up, nor none left, then doth the Lord use to come himself & rescue his people, and break those that thought to swal­low them up; of this you may please to take two notable instances; the one is a Prophesie in Deuteronomy 32. 36. Deut. 32. 35. the Lord had said how hee would scatter his people, but (saith hee) when hee saw, that their strength was all gone, [Page 21] that there was none shut up, nor none left, that is, none to bee a helpe, there were enow of Gods people left, but not any one that could worke any deliverance for them, what then? then did the Lord repent concerning his servants, and his owne Arme delivered them; you have it yet ra­ther more cleerly in Isaiah 59. 16. the words are these, The Lord looked, and there was no man, and wondred that Esay 59. 16. there was no intercessor, the Lord could finde none that could speake for them, none that could act for them, when God saw that, then his owne arme will doe it, hee then put on his mercy and goodnesse, and arrayed him­selfe with his zeale like a robe, and his owne Arme did it; that they might feare the name of God from the rising of the Sunne to the setting of it: and that is the reason why the Lord uses to come in at such a time, because hee hath the more glory. This for the time, when God uses to break the yokes of his people that lie upon them, when the enemies are at highest, when he hath humbled and pre­pared his people, and when all other helpes doe faile them, then the Lord doth it: But then in the next place,

How doth he doe it? after what manner doth he use to deliver them? Quest. 2. How, and after what manner doth God use to deliver his people.

I answer first in generall:

Which way soever the Lord doth it, all wayes are alike easie to him; alike easie for him to contrive; alike easie for him to use his infinite wisdome, and his infinite Resp. 1. All wayes are alike easie to him. power knows no degrees of ease or strength in any way, all are alike to him; It is all one to him to save by many or to save by few. Secondly, I answer,

That when the Lord comes to deliver his people, he seldome doth it that way that his people expect, seldome Resp. 2. He seldome delivers in that way his peo­ple expect it. walks in the paths that we have causeyed for him, or by the line that we have chalked out for his direction; [Page 23] seldome or never doth God take that way: We are prone to deal with God as Naaman did, when the Prophet had sent for him to cure, that he and his master might know there was a God in Israel who knew how to cure him of his Leprosie; Naaman believed it, but he had fancied by the way how it should be done: Now (saith he) I shall finde a Cure; and he will surely come out to me, and strike his hand over the place, and stand and call on the name of God, and so I shall see a miraculous work wrought upon me; the Prophet went clean another way; and because the Prophet did not come out, and take that way he thought of, he went away in a rage, and thought there was no cure for him: So verily most people deal with God; we think this is the way how our delive­rance must come, by such a Parliament, by such an Army, by such a designe, by such an association, by such and the other way, here it must come, if this way fail, we think all is lost, and God seldome goes the way we have chalked out; study you the Scriptures and you will finde it: But yet if positively you'll know what way he doth it; I answer more particularly:

Very frequently by his own immediate hand, without Resp. 3. Esay 63. 4 He usually de­livers his Church with­out any hu­mane help. the help of any other; he alone trode out the winepress of the wrath of God, and there was none of the people with him to help him, but doth all himself, so my Text saith in the next verse, The battail of the Warriours, &c. if other Nations conquer, they doe it by garments rolled in blood, and by confused noise, but this shall be by burn­ing and by fuell of fire by Gods own hand; Or which is all one,

He ordinarily doth it by most unlikely and contemp­tible Resp. 4. Or which is all one, by unlike­ly meanes and instruments, meanes, he will not alwayes work Miracles, that is to doe a thing without any meanes at all; but in the deli­verance [Page 24] of his Church, he alwayes works miranda, mar­vailous things, by doing it by such meanes as are alto­gether improbable and unsuitable to the great things that are to be done by him. This instance of my Text is a most notable proof, He will break every yoke of the oppressor, as in the day of Midian; how was that? you may read the Story in the 17 of Iudges: the way was this, there was such a numerous and mighty Army of the Midianites, that the text saith, they lay like grashoppers, and cover'd over all the Countrey; the Lord meant to destroy them and Gideon must goe with 300 men, and these 300 men must every one carry a pitcher, and a lamp therein in one hand, and a trumpet in another hand, and com­pass in this mighty Company, every one at his post, and blow with the trumpet, and not strike a stroke, but cry, The sword of the Lord and Gideon; and this routs and destroys an invincible Army. As in the day of Midian, saith the Lord, so will Jesus Christ, that is, by some unlikely meanes: And give me leave to say confidently, That whosoever reads the book of God from one end to the other, will finde that most of all the deliverances which the Lord hath given his Church, have been by peo­ple that have been most unlike to doe their businesse; A shepheard shall bring Israel out of Egypt; Rams hornes shall blow down the Walls of Iericho: A Shepheards boy with a sling and a stone in it, shall overthrow Goliah; the Israelites like two little flocks of Kids shall overthrow the Assyrians, that fill all the Countrey, thus hath the Lord used to doe it: If you'l know the reason of this man­ner of proceeding as well as of the time when he doth it, Reason. Because in this way of work­ing God ap­peares most like himselfe. it is,

Because then hee appeares like himselfe; the truth is, let God doe it by never such probable meanes, it is God [Page 25] that workes all; God did no more when hee destroyed the Midianites by Gideons 300. then hee did when he de­stroyed 2 Chron. 13. 13. the Army of the Israelites, with 400000. of the Tribes of Iudah and Benjamin, God did no more in the one then in the other, for it is God who workes all in all, but God doth not so much appeare, for wee that are thick sighted can see what the creature doth, but wee cannot see that this creature is in Gods hand, and that it is God that doth all; but now when the Lord uses meanes which are altogether unlike to attaine it, and are wholly unfit for the worke then to doe it, all say this was digitus Dei, this was the Lords doing; now the Lord saith, when there was none to speak, then his owne arme did it, that Gods name might have the praise from the rising of the Sunne to the setting of it: these things I might have prosecuted further; give me leave to wind it all up with an Application, and I shall dismisse you; and there are but two Vses, which I intend of this Lesson, the one is, First,

A word or two of admonition to enemies, if there should be any such here, that are ill-willers to the Church Ʋse. Admonition to them who have ill will at Zion. and people of God that love not Christs cause in the hands of his servants, who wish ill to it, who are glad when power and strength comes into the hands of those that would, or are likely to oppresse Gods people, and as farr as they can are contributing their power towards such designes; let mee tell thee who ever thou art, Thou wilt wholly be frustrate of thy expectation, flatter not your selves, O yee malignant spirits, if any such heare mee this day, I say againe flatter not your selves with any thought that you shall bee able to doe any great matters against the servants of Christ, your plots will all come to nothing; I will tell you a story, you shall finde it in [Page 26] 2 Chron. 28. the Church malignant, I meane the Church 2 Chron. 28. of the ten Tribes, (who had made apostasie under Iero­boam) had rallied a mighty Army together, and went against the true Church of Christ, against Iudah, and they got the day, and carried away 200000. of their brethren, whom they made account to keepe or sell for slaves, and so keep them in bondage, and now they thought all was their owne, there comes a Prophet and meets them, who tells them from God, With a rage that reacheth unto heaven, you have slaine many of your bre­thren, and now you think to keep the people of Iudah under, it will not bee (saith hee) there are sinnes amongst you, great is the wrath of God that is kindled against you, let them goe home againe, meddle not with them: and true­ly though the people were naught, they tooke the Pro­phets counsell, they saw it would be in vaine for them to kick against the prick; so I say, it may bee there may bee some such here, for I can heare of strange insultings and threatnings in the mouths and tongues of many against those whom they thinke shortly to have under their feet, but doe not flatter your selves, the people of God are too heavy a stone for you to carry farre; I will make (saith Zach. 12. 3. the Lord in the 12. of Zachariah) Ierusalem a burdensome stone, for all people that burthen themselves with it shall bee broken in peeces, though all the nations of the earth should bee gathered together against it, the people of God will bee too heavy a weight for them: in the same place hee speakes to them that thought to drinke their blood, I will make Ierusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about; you cannot hurt them, you may bee Gods flaile to thresh out their Chaffe, bee a meanes to purge and winnow them (which they will have cause to thank God for,) but for you to thinke to oppresse them long, that [Page 27] the rod of the wicked shall remaine or rest upon the neck of them that feare God, it cannot bee,you'l ruine your selves in the designe; bee wise therefore and leave it off; but I forbeare, for such ordinarily are more fill'd with fury and rage against that that is spoken in this kind, then willing to profit by it, and therefore my next Vse is,

To them that will profit by it, and whom I hope the Ʋse 2. Lord will teach to profit by it, to all those that have sin­cerely owned Christ and his cause amongst us, I would speake somewhat to them, the Lord grant I may speake effectually, I am sure it is a word in season, you who are the Exhortation Gods people not to be dis­hartned by the threatnings of [...]em [...]es. Lords people, that are in Covenant with him, who desire to know & feare him, and to see the welfare and prosperity of Zion, the thing I would leave with you is this, lay not to heart overmuch the dangers you seeme to be in for the present, from the hands of those who would destroy you, lay it not (I say) so far to heart as to be dismayed: I con­fesse it is as Arrowes in the hearts, and Swords in the bow­els of many, to heare the extream threatnings and scornes w ^ch in many places are cast upon those that desire to feare God, they are often told, You are not farre from hanging, you must shortly looke for it, England will bee too hot for And to walke so as to be un­der the shelter of this doctrine you, your doores are mark'd, you are known well enough, the day is comming, you'l be caught ere long, what of all that? which if these things bee belched out? I confesse if our lives were in the hands of men, if the Lord would deliver us up to them to doe what they would, and put us out of his hand, I beleeve there would not bee a god­ly man left before to morrow night, so much rage and fury is throughout the Land against them, if Satan might have the ruling of the rost, and the determination of businesses; but truely the servants of God are never nearer to deliverance, then when such threats lie upon [Page 28] them, and the Lord Jesus Christ being the same yester­day, to day, and for ever, knowes his own best time, and his own best way, and we should fix our eyes upon him, when all other things goe crosse, and studie onely to walke so as wee may bee under the power of this doctrine, that wee may bee under the reach, and cover and wings of it, and when wee have done that, wee have done all wee should doe; and therefore to this end, give me leave in this close of the Sermon, to give a threefold advice to Gods people, what they should now do in regard of the present straights Directions how this may bee done. and dangers that wee are cast in, that so wee may the more comfortably expect deliverance from Christ: the one is,

Let us all (in the first place) take the counsell of the 1. Prophet in Ieremiah 8. 14. when the Lord was giving up First, bee humbled and ashamed for our unworthy walking in the middest of so many wonder­full admini­strations to­wards us. Jen. 8▪ 14. his people to most wofull spoiles, the Prophet speakes to them after this manner, Why doe you sit still? assemble your selves, and let us enter into the defenced Cities, and let us be silent there, for the Lord our God hath put us to silence and given you the water of gall and wormeword to drinke; for wee have sinned against God; so I would say to all, O that the voyce of God in this could reach his servants in the Parliament, in the Court of Aldermen, in the Common-Councell, in the Citie, and throughout England, that it might prevaile with all that have been unfainedly devoted to this work, to get into their closets, to lay their hand upon their mouth, and weep before God, and say, This cup of gall and bitternesse is given us to drinke because wee have sinn'd against God, my meaning plainly is this, I thinke the servants of God in England, since the Gospel came into England, have never miscar­ried, nor dishonoured the Gospel so, as we have done since God hath wrought these enlargements for us; surely wee [Page 29] walked 100. times better in the dayes of persecution, then wee have in the middest of our inlargement; O to what abundance of loosenesse even good people are come, what pride in many of their hearts, what scandalous walking in the eyes of those that are enemies to Religion, what bitter divisions one against another, undermining one another, opposing one another, when one side gets power striving to beate downe the other, if the other get the ball, they kick as unmercifully against the other, even to the scorne of Religion: truely wee have even lost our selves; our foolish walking hath took off the awe that the profession of Religion laid upon the hearts of wicked men, who heretofore though they did not love goodnesse, yet they saw such a conversation in those that were good, that it laid a bridle upon them, but now they see that many godly, or who at least pretend to bee godly, appeare so selfish, so bitter, so worldly, not onely to bee of differing minds, but of differing affections, falling in­to horrible rents, and abominable opinions, this I say, hath tooke off the awe that lay upon mens consciences, and therefore is there so much rage let out against us; I de­sire therefore that we all that professe our selves to bee Christs servants may get our selves into our Closets, and bee silent, lay our hands upon our mouths, and say, It is most just with God wee should bee given up, wee had a little power and wee have abused it, wee have dishonor'd the Gospel, and now the Lord hath given us the water of Gall and Wormewood to drinke, because our finnes have called for it. Beloved, our adversaries can speak of these things, and it is good for you to heare of it from the Ministers mouth, for when wee lye low and submit, and say, God hath walked contrary to us, because wee have walked contrary to him, then the Lord will quickly [Page 30] turne things about, and bee gratious to us: that is one; let the servants of God wherein they have miscarried bee sensible of it, humbled and abased for it in Gods sight; And secondly,

Let our conversation for the time to come, bee accor­ding 2. to the principles and wayes that wee walked in the To walke ac­cording to our first good prin­ciples and wayes. beginning of this worke, when wee were first ingaged in it; In the beginning of our work, what were our princi­ples? what were the things wee aimed at then? Did we not then aime at the reformation of Religion, execution of justice, enjoyment of libertie, &c. were not these the hinges that carried us? and the wayes wherein we walked then, what were they? Were they not the wayes of Prayer, and the wayes of Christian love, and a spirit of zeale? Was there not a spirit of prayer mightily poured out in every corner of the Land, so that you could come no where, where there were any that feared God, but frequently in publique and private there was knocking at heaven gate, and wrestling with God? and was there not a spirit of Love amongst Gods people then? Wee know not the divisions and animosities that are come in since, every one helped together; and was there not al­so a spirit of Activity? Were they not all vigorous and active laying out all their strength and all their talents, when the enemy was not so active as now? which dili­gence many have given over, and the enemy hath taken up; now let us indeavour that the same spirit may be re­vived amongst Gods people for the time to come, let us remember our engagements, and what the things were wee vowed, when wee lifted up our hands to the most high God, and doe our first workes; O that wee could see a restoring of these things, O that wee could see a re­storing of the Spirit of prayer againe among the godly [Page 31] people of England, and a Spirit of love to unite one with another, (I am sure wee see all our enemies unite against us) O that they would now unite one with another, though they cannot bee all of one minde, yet of one heart, bea­ring one anothers infirmities, indeavoring to heale all that is sinfull in each other; O that the spirit of zeale to promote the cause wee are ingaged in, might once more bee found amongst us, that wee might with Abishai and Ioab play the men and bestirre our selves, and let God doe what is good in his own eyes: let that be our second care, remember our first principles, and our first wayes; And then thirdly, and lastly,

With lamenting and bemoaning our failings, and with 3. our recovering our first love, and our first wayes, let us With confi­dence expect a good issue from God. quietly leave it to God, to doe what hee will; O that God would once bring his servants to this passe, never to look for any great good from man, nor never to feare any great evill from man, neither good from the best of men, nor evill from the worst of men, but to resolve that the Lord can and will himselfe doe his own worke, and were there not left in London, in England, in all three King­domes any one of power to stand for the cause of God, were all swallowed up, yet let us conclude the fire of God will burne up all the briars and thornes that are ri­sen up against the Lords vineyard; were our Armies all lost, were our friends all gone (as indeed wee are come to a very low ebbe) yet is our deliverance never the further off, therefore hold up your confidence; indeed if wee were engaged in an ill cause wee ought to give it over to repent of it openly, and take shame to our selves; if wee have done ill, to stand for reformation, contend for our liberties, to contend to bee a free people, if this were sin­full let us bee humbled, and tell all the world of it, but if it [Page 32] be right, it's not the falling away of this man or that man, or the revolting of this or t'other Ship, or Castle, or this partie or that partie, all this is nothing, if God turne but his face against them they are all gone; Brethren, let me speak truly of it, it is thus in Scotland at this day, the godly party, they that are for the Covenant and Religi­on; though they are overborne with an Army, a de­generate party risen up against them, who threaten to swallow up all, and have plundred and wasted the estates and goods of them who will not joyne with them in this sinfull and wicked ingagement, yet they hold one and cleave to their old rules and principles, and confidently expect deliverance; the Lord teach us to doe the like, that as wee meet this day to praise God for his mercies and deliverances lately received, a whole catalogue where­of were now read unto you, so to resolve it for the time to come to seeke him in his own way, wee to doe what wee can, and with faith leave him to doe what he will.