A DISCOURSE Delivered unto some part of the FORCES Engaged in the Just War of NEW-ENGLAND Against the Northern & Eastern INDIANS.
Sept. 1. 1689.
By Cotton Mather Minister of the Gospel in Boston,
BOSTON Printed by Samuel Green. 1689.
To my Much Honoured FRIENDS; The Pious and Valiant COMMANDERS, Of the FORCES now engaged against our Indian Enemies.
A Request from One of you, was that which I esteemed a Command, for my Preaching of a Sermon fill'd with Counsils and Comforts to part of the Forces now under your auspicious Conduct. I was too dull to apprehend it either an Impudent or an Improper thing for me to do That, While I found a Minister (and Him none of the Oldest neither ) charged with a very great Solemnity, Preach the Word, Be instant in season, out of season, WATCH thou in all things, fulfil thy Ministry.
[Page] That which most wants an excuse is the Printing of it; which is a Service that I have not been so much a Voluntier unto. But the Reasons that produc'd my L abour in Preaching, which were, my Desire to save the Souls, and mend the Lives, and promote the Edification of those, for whom my Hearts Desire and Prayer to God, is, That they may be Happy; and my Ambition to Encounter and Abolish what I can, the Unchristian Temper of those who take advantage from the other Difficulties and Entanglements of the Country, to refuse doing them part in carrying on the Indian War; the same Reasons have procur'd my Consent to Printing of this Little Sermon.
As I never can endure that mischievous Impertinency, of making the first or chief Exercise after our Hearing, to be upon that Question, How did you like the Sermon to day? So I am not much concerned about the Reception and Entertainment which may be given to this poor Sermon by the Readers of it. My not having more than half a day to prepare it in, made it incapable of being thus Written, till since the Delivery of it; and it is now written, as near as well could be to what it was when Spoken: without many more Additions, I suppose, than may somewhat Ballance the Omissions made in the Transcription. The Substaneous and so much Extemporaneous uttering of a Sermon, indeed I am so far from accounting a matter of Applause, that I do esteem it Evil and Sinful, and never free from Blame, unless Gods Providence, and not our Election have made it Unavoidable; nor is any thing in the world [Page] more fulsome and nauseous, than for a Preacher to value himself upon such a Crime, as his not spending much time in Study. I do therefore beg pardon, that I offer you what is no better Studied; not without expectations; that whether you pardon me, or no, there are those that will make me run the Gantlets of their Censures for it; and yet had I never so much leisure for study; I would not, I could not offer you a more Needful Thing than the Matter, however I might offer you a more Curious thing than the Method of this Discourse. Accept the Sermon as a Little Messenger now sent into the Camp, after my Brethren, with a little parched Corn, to refresh them, against their Facing of the Philistines; and I beseech you, let none of them have their Anger so kindled, as to tell me, Why camest thou down hither? I know thy Pride; for give me leave to say it, What have I now done? is there not a Cause?
Gentlemen! It is the War of the Lord which you are now Engaged in: and it is the Help of the Lord, that we are at Home affectionately imploring for you. We have made a fair and just purchase of our Country from the Natives here; not encroaching on them after the Spanish Fashion, in any of their Properties and Possessions. Yet they are now molesting of us in the Enjoyment of what our God ( because our Right) hath made our own; which my Pen cannot mention without Jehoshaphats Ejaculation, We destroy'd them not, but behold how [Page] they Reward us, to come to cast us out of thy Possession, which thou hast given us to inherit. O our God, Wilt thou not Judge them? I believe, I am perswaded, and Confident, He will. But your Wisdom and Courage is now to be Employ'd in order thereunto; and we all wish you such large measures of Both, as the matter does require. You are some of you, such as in the former War, ventured as far as any men Alive; and the God of Armies then blessed you, not only with safety, but with a success also, which we should be very unworthy if we should be unthankful for. As you have thereby learn'd what a Treacherous, Barbarous, Dangerous Enemy you have to deal withal; so you are not without a gracious Invitation to Trust in God for your future preservation; You may animate your selves with such an Hope as that, The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the Lion, and out of the paw of the Bear, He will also deliver me out of the Hands of the Philistine, Your former Deliverances whereof the Honourable Wounds upon some of you are perpetual Monitors and Memorials, are a Dish of Leviathans Heads well draft, for your Faith to feed upon. Feed and Fight now with a strong Faith; By That you may wax Valiant in fight, and turn to flight the Armies of the Aliens.
Gentlemen! Your Forces are Happy in you; none of you being that Debauched sort of Captains, which will Drink and Swear and Curse and Profane the Sabbath, and at the same time give out that [Page] Perilous Word of Command, Follow your Leader alas, whither do they Lead them! But I assure my self that you are such as have long since Listed your selves under the Banner of the Lord Jesus Christ; [ Let His Banner over you be Love!] and are concerned that all your men may under that Banner oppose the Lusts which war against their Souls Tis the design of this publication that you may be as Happy, in your Forces; and that those For whom and With whom you are every day pouring out your Prayers to the Lord of Hosts, may not want Encouragements to any of those Combates, in which you would see them all Victorious. You are in the Head of Companies, whom you are generously willing not only to Live, but also to Dy withal; and the chief thing that I am pursuing is, That whether Death join you to them, or part you from them, You may meet them all e're long at the Right-hand of the Lord Jesus Christ. I have had many Fears upon my Spirit, lest the wonderful Deafness to, and Contempt of the Everlasting Gospel found in the Rising Generation here, may not cause the Lord Jesus to say, That He will not have pleasure in our young men; but that he will take them off, and lay them waste by the plagues of a destructive War. To prevent such Omens, may be motive enough unto many such endeavours as you are here treated with. May These Warnings reach some of them that had slighted too many others heretofore! I have done when I have told you, That I hope you have not all your Forces with you; all the praying people of New-England [Page] have Embarked themselves with you, and assist your present Expedition. It was not at all Displeasing unto His Majesty, our most Gracious and Illustrious King WILLIAM, to hear those words in a Speech made unto Him by one concerned for us, It may be Humbly spoken to Your Majesty, The very Prayers of your poor subjects in New-England, may do Your Majesty as much Service as an Army of Forty Thousand Men. 'Twill surely be a satisfaction unto you, to think what an Army of Prayers (quasi manu facta, as Tertullian expresses it) as every day besieging and beseeching of Heaven for your Prosperity. We are no ways tainted with a Popish Fancy, of I know not what, Protection to arise from the Bodies of the Dead Saints that are inhum'd among us; though a very Rich Crop of them will be afforded by this little Spot of Ground, at the Resurrection of the Just. 'Tis foretold of Antichrist, He shall honour the God of Mahuzim, besides, ( for so I read it ) the God which his Fathers knew not, Besides, the Lord Jesus Christ whom they despise, our Neighbours, the French, like other Papists, have their Mahuzim, that is, their Defenders, or Guardians; and those are the Saints Departed. Hence even some of the Ancients ( or shall I call them by a contrary Name? for, Antiquitas seculi est Juventus mundi) themselves, betimes became so vain, as to count the Reliques of the Dead Saints, the Towers and Ramparts of the places that Enjoy'd them; and the Dead Bodies of two Apostles in the City made the Poet cry out, [Page] A Facie Hostili duo propugnacula praesunt.
But instead thereof, you have the Prayers of Living Saints to increase your Protection in the worst of your Adventures. I hope they may make you Forty thousand strong. Our Lively Prayers to the God whom our Fathers knew, will be the best Mahuzim or Forces for you; if we do but choose and love and serve the blessed God of our Fathers, and Reform the Sins that have provoked Him to Avenge with a Sword the quarrel of his Covenant which O that our God would enable us unto!
Gentlemen, Tho I am neither a Souldier, nor the Son of a Souldier, yet you will allow me that have heretofore published my concern for Military Persons by the pressing of Military Duties, to continue my Affection thereunto; and to perform some part of my Devoirs unto yourselves, by now subscribing my self,
Souldiers Counselled and Comforted.
It is written in
WHEN there was made unto the famous and faithful John of old, that Application whereof we have that Account in Luc. 3. 14. The Souldiers demanded of Him, saying, What shall we do? We find that He left them not without those Divine Words of Command which He thought proper and useful for them. 'Tis in Conformity to his Great and Good Exemple, that I count my self under Obligations at this Time to attempt the satisfaction and answer the Expectation of the Souldiers, those worthy Leader has brought them into [Page 2] Assembly, that they might hear a short Sermon adapted unto Their peculiar Circumstances. We are informed in the Sacred Pages, that in the Expedition of the Israelites against the Canaanites, There came down those that Handled the Pen of the Writer. 'Tis the unhappiness of the Expedition which we are at this day concerned in, that our present and pressing Dangers involve every person some way in it. Even Scholars must either Accompany or Encourage souldiers; and they that have handled none but Pens, must either carry or sharpen Swords. We are in the Briars of a Perplexity, wherein, Omnis Homo Miles est. Every man is in his way to bear Arms; and Those that I have to assist you with, I must fetch out of that Christian Panoply the Holy Bible.
'Tis there, my Fellow-Souldiers, that I find the Copy of a Renowned Souldier, to suit your Enquiries, when you repair unto me with your What shall we do Behold in That of the Psalmist, both your own Condition, and your own Direction. Your Condition is, To have your Lives continually in your Hands. Your Direction is, To not forget Gods Law.
The Text now offered unto your Consideration, is in the longest, and yet the sweetest of all the Psalms. 'Tis in a Psalm, which (as one saith) consisteth of words, Non tam Legenda quam Vivenda, to be Lived rather than Read or Heard; [Page 3] a Psalm, which (as another says) is, Quanto trolixior eo prestantior, having an Excellency transcendent like its Prolixity; a Psalm which the wittiest of the Ancients in a Dream or Vision had presented unto him, as The Tree of Life in the midst of the Paradise of God; What shall I say more? a Psalm which well deserves to be set as the Preface of the Scripture, being the Encomium, and indeed the Epitome of it all.
A Coherence, and so an Analysis, of the several Paragraphs in the Psalm, is not sollicitously to be sought: the Regard had unto the Order and Number of the Hebrew Letters, throughout the whole, giving us cause to look for a Cohaerence of Letters rather than of Matters in it; however in our Context there seems to be some Dependence. We have here the Lovely David, that Eminent Servant and Souldier of the Lord, afferting his own Integrity, against the Temptations of a Various Assault; an Assault both from Snares and Swords. He was Assaulted one while by Fraud; and as to the Temptations thereof he says, The Wicked have laid a Snare for me, yet I have not erred from thy Precepts. He was Assaulted another while by Force; & as to the Temptations thereof, he says, My soul is continually in my Hands; yet I do not forget thy Law. Suppose this incomparable General, now skulking and scowling about the Woods, in the Wilderness of Palestine; pursued like a Patridge, by that bloody Fowler Saul, with all his cruel setting Dogs about [Page 4] him. Suppose him now in Arms, and thus Expressing of himself. Behold in our Text:
First, the Affliction of a great Souldier. 'Tis, my soul is continually in my Hand. By the Soul may be meant the Life, which does consist in a Vital Union between the Soul and the Body. But how may this be said to be. In the Hand? I remember Austin upon this place, confesses, he could not conceive what the psalmist meant. But Jerom hits the Nail, by noting that it is an Hebraism, Quo significatur vitam habere periculo Expositam; signifying to go in Danger of ones Life. The Graecians have a Proverb, as well as the Hebrews to the same purpose; [...] He hath his Soul in his Hand. To put it out of Doubt, that this is the Intent of the Psalmist here, we find it elsewhere, that when the Life of this very person had been obnoxious to an extraordinary Danger, 'tis thus deciphered in 1 Sam. 19. 5. He did put his Life in his Hand. And hence the never enough Regarded and Commended French Translation, so renders the passage, we are now upon, Ma Vie a este continuellement en Hazard; my Life has been continually in Hazard. A Souldier must continually look to be Hazarding of his Life.
Secondly the Affection of a good Souldier. 'Tis Yet I do not forget thy Law. A Souldier must indeed Forget all things, but Gods Law, and his own Sword. For the Object which he is to be Affected with, 'tis Gods Law, That is one of the Ten [Page 5] Words, one of which is used in almost every verse of this glorious Hymn, to denote, The ways and means by which the blessed God reveals His Will unto the Children of Men; and the Will it self revealed in those ways and means.
And then for the Respect which he is to place upon this Object, it is, Not Forgetting. But we are to bear in mind, That according to the Received Rule of Expounding Scripture Phrases to Remember, denotes also, to Know, to Love, to Do. All That is intended here.
And hence the Doctrine here provided for you is,
That the Remembrance of Gods Law, is a Thing of no small Importance to them that have their Lives continually in their Hands.
As the little Time given me for Preparation, will not allow me to be very Accurate and Pertinent in improving my present opportunity, which until too late yesterday I knew nothing of: so the little strength left me by the excessive Labours of this morning supervening upon the Languors of a late Illness, will not permit me to be long, in this Discourse; I have only two Propositions to entertain you with,
Proposition I.
To have their Lives in their Hands, is a Condition which the Children of Men are liable unto.
There is indeed a Threefold Condition which brings the Lives of Men into the Hands of Men, with a Gradual Descent from Generals to Specials, it may be set before you.
The first Condition of this kind, is, that of All Men: Accordingly our Observation is,
1. Men have their Lives brought into their their Hands, in point of Mortality. Our Lives are come out from our Hearts unto our Hands; and they are in a sort ready to shake Hands with us. Our Lives do as it were take us by our Hands, and say, Well, I am going, Fare you well.
Our Lives are come into our Hands for the Brevity of them. Once indeed there was a Longevity in Fallen Man that seem'd almost Aemulous of that Immortality, which Upright man should have had experience of. The Antediluvian Patriarchs might have broke up Company, with probable Agreements to have met again in the same Place and Form an Hundred Years afterwards. But that LONG LIFE, is [Page 7] by our Vice, and Gods Curse, now terribly Abbreviated. Our own Corruption has Enfeebled the principles of Life in our Successive Generations, and Gods just Malediction has confirm'd that Feebleness, whereby we Dy before our Time, for being wicked overmuch. The Sacred Law of God has now Abridged our Lives into Seventy Years, and the Common Law of Man, into Seve [...] Our Lives are now IN our Hands, and we have not an Handful thereof. The psalmist could say in Psal. 39. 5. Behold, Thou hast made my Days as an Hands Breadth. In an Hands Breadth may be grasped the whole of the Lives which we have in our Hands.
Our Lives are likewise come into our Hands for the Uncertainty of them. What is in our Hands is Extra nos, 'tis uncertain whether we shall keep it or no. Our Lives are so in our Hands, that we know not whether they will stay with us. They may be wrested out of our Hands: and in a Turn of an Hand they are gone, before we are aware. 'Tis said in James 4. 14. What is your Life? It is even a vapour. It is as [...] Vapour, or a Candle, that we bear (not in Horns, but) in Hands. 'Tis liable to be Extinguished by every puff of Wind.
The Second Condition of this kind, is, that of Old Men. And so our Observation is,
2. Men have their Lives brought into their Hands in point of Infirmity. Aged persons Lean with their Hands; and on their Staves they carry [Page 8] their Lives. The Life may be put for the whole Man; with the Old Man 'tis come into the Hands; his Feet cannot now support him. 'Tis said of him in Eccles 12. 3. The strong men, (i. e. his Legs) bow themselves; and so the Trembling Hands must be the Keepers of the House. All the strength left him, and all his Life is in his Hands. He does all things with a Staff in Hand, and so with a Life in Hand; as 'tis noted of the Gray-headed and Decrepit Jacob, in Heb. 11. 21. He Worshipped, leaning on the Top of his Staff: When he rose off his Couch to worship God, he could not rise without a Staff; his Life was relieved and exerted mostly by his Aged palsey Hand.
The third Condition of this kind, is that of Confessors, and that of Souldiers. And our Observation upon it is,
3 Men have their Lives brought into their Hands in point of Danger to Loose their Lives.
'Tis the Chaldee Paraphrase upon this place, Anima mea peri [...]itatur as si esset [...] [...] super sicie manus m [...]ae. Our Lives are sometimes by Dangers placed, as t'were on the Back of our Hands. We have no hold of them, but they will take wing, and be gone, in the Twinkling of an Eye. We are sometimes to venture our Lives; and when we do so, We may say, as in 1 Sam 28. 21. behold I have put my Life in my Hand. That which is in our Hands, is easy to be Taken away; yea, What is ready to be Given [Page 9] away, we take in our Hands. In both respects, our God often calls us to have our Lives in our Hands. We are sometimes to engage in those things, wherein 'tis but a Peradventure, whether we shall ever come off Alive. Yea, we are sometimes not only to Expose our Lives, but also to Resign them, and let them go out of our Hands, and pour them forth as a Drink-offering before the Lord.
This is the case of Confessors. They Dy Often; they are as 'tis said in 2 Cor. 11. 23: In Deaths often. Yea, they Dy Daily; they can say as in 1 Cor. 15. 31. I Dy Daily. That is, They are Often, they are Daily in Danger in Dying; and so they have their Lives in their Hands. There is a Number of people in the World, who profess the Truths and Ways of God, and serve Him according to His Word. This people are a sort of Army, under the Colours and Commands of the Lord Jesus Christ; but the Ancient Legend (pardon me that I call it so ) of the Thebaean Legion is verifyed in the usage that they meet withal. They have so many Hands against them, that their Lives are in their Hands; and from that Flock of Slaughter, now one, and then another is made a prey to Wolvish Persecutors; before whose Rabid Violence, they say, Lord, For thy sake We are killed all the Day Long.
And this is the case of Souldiers too. It was remarked by a notable man of that Character, in 2 Sam. 11. 25. The Sword Devoureth One as [Page 10] Well as another. The Hebrews call War, by a Name that signifies, A Devourer. And Souldiers carry in their Hands, what the Monster feeds upon; the Leviathan devours the Lives of them who do Encounter him. The Lives of Souldiers are where their Arms are, even in their Hands; for they know not whether they shall return Alive, out of the Battels which they are push'd upon.
And it is for a double Reason that our God carves out such a condition for us.
First, It is to check our Worldly-mindedness: It was said unto that good man, in Jer. 45. 5. Seekest thou great things for thy self, seek them not; for—thy Life will I give unto thee for a prey. When our Life is for a prey, our Life is then in our Hand; we have it by a meer snatch as it were. This now prohibits our seeking of great things for our selves, in as much as we cannot secure to our selves the Enjoyment of That, which alone makes us capable of Enjoying all other Sublunary Things. By bringing our Lives into our Hands, our Hands are knock'd away from too fast a gripe or grasp after Secular Objects. When our Life is in our Hand, God has a voice in His Month to this purpose, Dream not of mighty Things, no, nor of any Things in this Transitory World, until thou hast better Assurance of thy continuance here. The blessed God thus inviteth us, and obligeth us, to look after the glorious Crowns and Joyes in another World. He Inviteth us, and obligeth [Page 11] us, To set our Affections upon the Things which are above; and, To Look at the Things which are not seen and are Eternal; and to make sure of an Hope in Christ, without which we see (when we have Life in Hand) our selves to be of all men most miserable.
Secondly; It is to cure our Creature-Confidence. It was said by the Apostle in 2 Cor. 1. 9. We had a Sentence of Death in our selves, that we should not trust in our selves, but in God, which raises the Dead. A Condemned Malefactor carries his Life in his Hand, from the Bar. We are sometimes in as perilous a Likelihood of Dying, as a condemned Malefactor; and we are hereby called upon to Trust in God alone for the Reversing and Repealing of the Sentence. By having our Lives in our Hands, we are under a Necessity of Reliance upon God alone to keep them there. When we have our Life in our Hand, we have also that call in our Ear, Do not Lean upon any Temporal Visible Interest for the preservation of thy Life; let all thy Expectations be, as all thy Salvations are, from God alone. The Lord breaks down the Hedge on every side of us, and we Ly open to Death every way: 'tis that we may reserve our Dependance for all support, and all succour, to be placed upon God alone; 'tis that we may learn the Song of him that returned with his Life in his Hand from the maw of the great Shark; Salvation is of the Lord.
Proposition II.
The Direction proper for them that have their Lives in their Hands, is to Remember the Law of God.
When you have considered a few Conclusions, your thoughts will rightly apprehend the Intent and Extent of this Assertion.
Conclusion I.
Their Memories being Fraighted aud Stored with Divine Truths, do marvellously assist those that have their Lives in their Hands.
Our Souls have an admirable Faculty of laying up in themselves the Images of Things which have made their Impressions on us. This is our Memory. We have both a Retaining Memory, which is more Sensitive and a Regaining Memory, which is more Rational: a Memory, that can both keep Safe and fetch Back what Idaeas we have been Entertained with. This Memory is a Treasury, to be replenished with such Things as the Law of God affords unto us. 'Tis Required in Prov. 3. 1. My Son forget not my Law. 'Tis Resolved in Psal. 119. 16. I will not Forget thy Word. The Law of God contains Commandments [Page 13] every one of which are Holy, and Just, and Good; it contains Promises, every one of which are Great and Precious; it contains Threatnings, every one of which are Quick and Powerful and these are all to be Treasured up in our [...]. When they have been communicated unto us, we are to take heed that, Menasseh, or Forgetfulness be not the Name of our Souls. The Distillations of Gods Law, like Manna, fall about our Tents from Day to Day: our Duty now is that in 2 Pet. 1. 15. To have these Things always in Remembrance; and Gods Law will not like Manna, corrupt, but rather sweeten, by being Reposited until To morrow. The Law of our God is both Written and Preached among us: now 'tis declared in Heb. 2. 1. We ought to give earnest heed unto the Things, lest at any time we let them slip or, Lest we be like Leaky Vessels thereunto. The Truths, couched in the Law of God are to be like Nails fastned in our Souls; never to be removed, never to be displaced. After we have been sitting under the Dispensations of Gods Law, He will ask of us, as in Heb. 12. 5. Have you forgotten the Exhortation? To which we should be able to Reply as the Psalmist of old, Lord, I have not forgotten thy Law. And hence we should Receive the Truths therein offered unto us, with that Affectionate and Agreeable Ejaculation, Lord, keep it for ever in the Imagination of the Thought of my Heart!
[Page 14] Now those of you that carry your Lives in your Hands will have this peculiar Benefit, by having of Gods Laws thus in your Minds.
First, your Memory will suggest Necessary Truths unto you. You cannot always come at those Ordinances, which are the Wells of Salvation, being driven to wander in the Dry paths of a Solitary Wilderness. But your well- [...] Memories will supply you with the words whereby you may be saved, & bring a Little Sanctuary to you when you are Banished from the Great Ones. They will render you the Instructed Scribes which will not want Things Now and Old, for the Repast of your Souls in the Desert which you [...]ange forth into. Salvation was to come unto [...] by your Hearing [...] were here; it may now come unto you by your Remembring; for the Apostle said, in 1 Cor. 15. 2. Ye are saved, if you keep in Memory, What I Preached unto you.
And, Secondly, Your Memories will suggest Seasonable Truths unto you. You are going into a Warfare, wherein you will often have occasion for some Advice from God. While you were among us, you could seldom labour under any Doubt, or Snare, but you would have it met withal, in the Ordinances, that you conscientiously repair'd unto; you might say with him, I went into the Sanctuary of God, then I understood. But your Memories must now be your Monitors; if they be not Empty, they will not [Page 15] be Silent. It was said by some that were hurried away from the place where the Institutions of the most High did use to be maintained, in Lam. 3. 21. I Recal to mind, therefore I have Hope. So you may quickly have cause to say, I Recal to mind, and I have Life; and, I Recal to mind, and I have light; and, I Recal to mind, and I know what I have to do.
Conclusion 2.
'Tis a Practical Remembrance of Divine Truths, which they that have their Lives in their Hands are to be most concerned for. Let Remembring and Practising go Hand in Hand, since you have your Life in your Hand. It is said in Numb. 15. 39. Remember all the Commandments of the Lord, and Do them. Behold, God has joined these two, and what God has join'd Let no man put asunder. The Best Remembrance is that which produces Repentance. 'Twas said, in Matth. 26. 75. Peter Remembred the words of the Lord Jesus; and he went out and wept bitterly. Thus we should so Remember the Law of God, as to weep for all our Violations of it; weep and Mourn and Bleed at the Thoughts of our own Unanswerableness thereunto. And, The Best Remembrance is that which produces Obedience. 'Twas said, in Psal. 22. 27. They shall Remember, and Turn unto the Lord. Thus we should so Remember the Law of God, as to Turn from all our [Page 16] own Behaviours that are contrary thereunto to Turn from all Sin to God in Christ for ever. A little of this Remembring will go further than the Largest and Longest Repetition else. A Pious Person being asked, What do you Remember of the last Sermon? Reply'd I don't Remember much; but so much I do Remember that I shall Endeavour to mend a miscarriage that the Sermon convinc'd me of. That was Well Remembred! Tho' your Memories may serve you like a Sieve that seem'd full while it was in the Water, but has nothing in it, immediately on its Taking out; yet therein however let them be like the Sieve, that they shall be made pure and clean by the Waters of Life that are passing thorough them. This is the Remembrance which you are to be most ambitious of.
Conclusion 3.
Our having our Lives in our Hands ought not to Affright us from any thing that the Law of God makes incumbent on us.
This is, I suppose, the principal Intendment of the Psalmist here; q. d. Tho' I have my Life in my Hand, yet I will do no Indirect Thing, to keep it there. We should never Warp, never Sin, to avoid any peril whatsoever. When we have our [...] in our Hands, we are then Try'd, whether we will put forth our Hands [Page 17] unto Iniquity to secure what is in them: But having a clear Call to your Service, you should say as the Martyr once, If every Hair of my Head were a man, I would have the Lives of them all sacrificed, rather than desert the cause I am engaged in. You should be above all carnal motions, or passions, or Impressions, that may discourage you in the work which you are to attend with your Lives in your Hands. 'Twas said by that wise man, in Gal. 6. 14. I am Crucified unto the World. A crucified man has his Life in his Hands with a witness, when his Hands are Nailed and Hanging on the Tree. You should have no more Carnal Joyes and Griefs, no more Carnal Hopes and Fears, then a man whose Life is going out at his Hands Gratify not any Enemy, by a Sinful Compliance, to Escape Danger; for God can Restrain your Adversary. 'Tis said in Proverb 16. 7. When a mans ways please the Lord, his Enemies shall be at peace with him. Oftentimes to prevent mischiefs from Enemies our Way does Displease the Lord: but we then take a Wrong Way! God can make Pharoah afraid of Moses, and Herod afraid of John. The Lord has Hornets to buz and sting Terrors into those whom we may be too much terrified withal. And Gratify not any Corruption upon such a score; for God will Reward your Fidelity: Said he in Matth. 19. 27. Behold, we have Forsaken All; and what shall we have Therefore: Good Sir, All What? Why All a Net, All a Boat, All a small Craft which they had some [Page 18] Subsistence on. This was All! yet it follows, Jesus said, Ye that have followed me, shall in the Regeneration, When the Son of Man shall sit on the Throne of his Glory, then also sit upon Twelve Thrones. You cannot Receive the Exposition of it: but—surely then they that will forsake their very Lives rather than do amiss, will not miss a most glorious Recompence.
Conclusion 4.
Some people that have their Lives in their Hands, are more prone to Forget the Law of God, then others that undergo less Dangers are. This may seem an Intimation, or Insinuation of the Psalmist here; q. d. I been't like other people who carry their Lives in their Hands. I extreamly Value the Law, which they commonly Forget. 'Tis very strange, and very sad; but also very True; That there is often least Grace in the Hearts of those that most have their Life in their Hands. How it comes to pass, I don't know; but so it is, That they whose nearest and oftnest Approaches unto Eternity should awaken them to be the Best People in the World, are frequently the worst of all.
We see it in Sailors and in Souldiers. As for them that follow the Sea, 'tis said of them, in Psal. 107. 22. They Reel to and fro, and Stagger like a Drunken Man; and are at their Wits Ends. [Page 19] Thus 'tis with them in regard of Storm; and when that is over, 'tis thus again with them in regard of Sin too; even after they come a Shore, still (and upon a sadder Account) they will many of them Reel to and fro, and Stagger, not like a Drunken man; but thro' being really so. They make deeper Descents towards Hell by their Vice than in their Ship; and no Sea-sickness will turn into a Sin sickness with them. Tho they may pray in a Tempest, how horribly will they Swear and Curse, and how filthily will they Talk, when they are out of their Amazements! It has been doubled, Whether they were to be reckoned among the Living or the Dead. But the sense of this keeps few of them, from those Remarkable Extravagancies; which quickly plunge them down into the Congregation of those that Roar under the Waters for evermore.
And as for them that follow the Field, Forgive the plain Dealing, my Fellow-Souldiers, if I tell you, That Wickedness, Impiety, Profanity, is one of the Things that has made their Character Extraordinary in the World. Their Names are up, for an Acquaintance with an Excess of Rudeness and Lewdness, and all manner of Debauchery. How rarely have Armies been the Schools of true Vertue and Honour? but not rather the Nurseries of all those Abominations, that would render the lowest Hell Visible and Incarnate here. It was complained in Psal. 119. 6. The Bands of the Wicked have Robbed me. How [Page 20] seldome do Bands consist of those who are not, who do not so? It has been of old noted,
Nulla Fides, Pietas (que) Viris, qui Castra Sequntur.
That Armies, have but few Christians in them. We say, That Laws are not Heard, where Arms are Clashing. Alas, no Laws are so much drowned and slighted there, as the Laws of the Holy One of Israel.
USE I
The Improvement of these things remains, & first the Whole Congregation is concerned in it.
Unto, you, I say, Take heed that your Lives be not snatch'd out of your Hands before your Souls are well provided for. Your Souls are not well provided for without Regeneration; for we are told, Except a man be born Again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God. Nor without Conversion: for we are told, Except ye be [...] ye shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven Nor without Believing; for [...] [Page 21] Believe not, you shall Dy in your Sins. O Look after these Important things, they all make up The One Thing Necessary. I am to tell you, and I must loose the Life which I now carry in my Hand, if I tell you not, That Necessity is laid upon you, and Wo unto you, if you do it not. If your Souls are drag'd away before you have had a Comfortable Experience of these Needful Things, you are horribly undone; Flatter not yourselves, He that made you will not have mercy on you, and He that Formed you, will shew you no Favour. The Souls which are now so much in your Own Hands, must then fall into Other Hands, which how can your Hearts be strong, or how can your Hands Endure at the fore-sight of? Your Souls must then fall into the Hands of God, whose Hands (whose fiery iron Arms) 'tis a fearful thing to fall into. And your Souls must then fall into the Hands of Satan too, Who goes about seeking whom to catch and gripe in his cruel claws. And are these the Hands, that, O ye Souls in peril, ye will rush into? Hearken to that voice of the Eternal God, which says in Heb. 3. 7. To Day if you will Hear his voice. What you do for the Wellfare of your Souls, must be done To Day, To Day! Your Souls may have taken Wing before To morrow, I may say as 'twas once said in a worse case, What thou [...] do quickly! 'T is the solemn Caution, in Prov. 27. 1. Boast not thy self of To morrow, for thou knowest not what a Day may bring forth 'T is not safe, 'tis a very [Page 22] dangerous Folly and Phrensy, to leave a Soul miserable for One Day together. A Renewed man has before now seen cause to say, I would not be in my Natural Estate again one Hour, for ten thousand Worlds; Lest my Death should come in that Hour, and carry my miserable Soul away, to the Torments of the Pit belom. O that every one of you then would this Night set yourselves to answer the Calls of the Everlasting Gospel; O that you would this Night make yourselves Happy, by giving up yourselves to God in Christ with an Everlasting Covenant. If any Person go away, without Resolutions to make Essays [...] unto, I have only this to add, Thou Fool This Night thy Soul may be Required of thee; and where then will the wretched L [...]dgings of it be? Where throughout Eternal Ages?
USE II.
But I behold in the Congregation a part of the Forces, that are carrying their Lives in their Hands, against the Barbarous Enemies by which the Territory is at this time Distressed and Invaded, and unto these I shall Address the Rest of my Discourse, with a very particular Application. 'T is with a very due Respect and [Page 23] Esteem, that I look upon you, my good Friends and Neighbours; as many of you as have given cause for that Acknowledgment of you, in Judge 5. 2. Praise the Lord, for the people willingly offered themselves: and while I am touch'd with an Ambition to Assist you (I might have said, to Accompany you) in your present Expedition, I cannot find a fitter way to do it, than by giving you that part of a Sermon, which your worthy Commander has asked for you. You may say like that Souldier, in Judg. 12. 2. I put my Life in my Hands, and passed over against the Children of Ammon: God grant you may quickly say the rest▪ And the Lord delivered them into my Hand. That you may Happily and Cheerfully go on, with what you have in Hand, a few Counsils, a few Cordials, and a few Blessings, are to make up the Remainder of our present Exercise.
COUNSILS.
By way of Counsil, give me leave to say,
First, Be sensible that you go forth with your Souls, as well as your Lives in your Hands. That word, A Soul, A Soul! methinks it sounds bigger than a World. A Precious and an Immortal Soul; O 'tis too big a Thing to be thrown away. Think, That you have every one of you, a Soul, which is a Jewel too valuable to be Despised: he is a Fool indeed, of whom it may be said, He Despises his own Soul. Now you are going forth against Indians with your Souls in [Page 24] your Hands, pray, be apprehensive that you should not make Indian-Bargains about those Inestimable Souls. The Indians would sell to the Europeans at their first Arrival in the Southern Regions, the best Jewels, and Metals, for a few Glass-beads. Let your Thoughts be, that you have Souls not to be so basely Truckt away; Souls not to be Sold for Songs, whatever the Flesh, the World, or the Devil may sing unto you. It is wholsome Advice, in Prov. 4. 20. Keep thy Soul with all Diligence. Consider, That you, have Souls, which will stand like Rocks in the Sea of Eternity for ever; and O Consider, What will become of them Souls, if they be not New-born before their Departure hence. There was a profane Souldier, who on One side of his Sword, had a Shape of a God, on the other side the Picture of the Devil, With this Motto under it, Si tu non [...]is, iste rogitat; If He won't have me, here's One will. Hideous Monster! But this Disjunction is too certain and Awful a Thing to be play'd withal. If your Souls are not seasonably interested in the Favour of God, they will be siezed by those Devils, whose Malice and Fury will inflict worse Tortures on you, than ever the most bruitish Indians do in their Executions of their unhappy Prisoners. I beseech you, be not prodiga Gens Animi, or unaffected with the Worth and the State, of your own Souls. No, Take the First Opportunity to confess and bewayl your many Sins, with a sincere purpose, I will not offend any [Page 25] more. Take the First Opportunity to Accept and Embrace all the Sure Mercies of the Lord Jesus Christ, with a gracious Promise, Lord, I will now be thy Servant Devoted to thy Fear. You must quickly, and you should boldly, look Death in the Face, with your Souls in your Hands; in order thereunto, Let me utter that proper word of Command, Make Ready! I say, Make Ready! Get out of your unrenewed Estate, and Make Ready, that at the first Alarum e're long, you may have nothing to Do, but, Fight and Dy.
Secondly, Let them be none but Pure-hands in which you carry your Lives. We read in Isa. 1. 15. When you spread forth your Hands, I will bide mine eyes from you; for your Hands are full of Blood. Even so, there are Hands full of Luxury, there are Hands full of Injustice; but those Hands are not clean enough for your Lives to be carried in them. Wherefore as 'tis said, in James 4. 8. Cleanse your Hands, re Sinners: Let me call upon you, Cleanse your Hands, ye Souldiers. Let there be no Uncleanness, no Disorder found in your Hands. Endeavour to have a pure Camp; and be Like the Host of God. We read sometimes of a Church in an House; Why should you not as well study a Church in a Camp? Keep your Camp as free from Swearing, Drinking, Gaming, Rioting, and Sabbath-keeping, as any Church in the World; and let God be worshipped in your Camp as frequently, as Devoutly as in a Church This, this will render you Terrible as an Army [Page 26] with Banners. You may have Military Valour. enough to conquer an Indian; but you must also have Christian Valour to subdue a Lust. When Peter had Armed people round about him, how nimbly, how stoutly did he draw upon them! but presently after a sorry Damosel made him give way to that which Broke all his Bones O be so Valiant, as to put out of your Hands, all that may not be Convenient for the Lives which you carry there.
Thirdly. While you have your Lives in your Hands, L et your Ends in your Eyes be such as they ought to be. Be not acted by Lucre, by Revenge, by any sorry or Dirty Principles in your present Undertaking but be acted by a sincere Desire to Defend the people of God, from a crew of Unjust Men, that are skilful to Destroy, 'Tis said, in 1 Cor. 10. 31. Whatever you Do, Do all to the Glory of God. Even in the meanest Actions; the Glory of God is to be the Star to Guide us, the Spur to move us. A Godly Man, among our first Planters here, while he was cutting of Wood, being asked, Who it was for? answered, I am Cutting of Wood for God. If in Cutting of Wood, much more in Killing of Men, you should be able to say, I am at work for God. Be not the Souldiers of Fortune, as they are called; but be the Souldiers of Jesus; and let the Account that you may give of your Concerns be this, I would do all I can, that the Churches of God may have Rest, and that therefore those may be cut off, who Trouble [Page 27] them. L et every Bullet be shot with an Eye taking aim at this White, when you are Firing upon the Blacks in the Swamps of the Howling Wilderness.
Fourthly, Don't part with your Lives out of your Hands, without such Demonstrations of Courage as may Confound your Adversaries. Let it not be said at your Death, He Dyed as a Fool Dyes, Have Life in your Hands, while you have Lives in your Hands; and let them be Lively Hands too, in which you carry your Lives: To run from a Press, is a thing not so generous; and the speedy Rebukes of Heaven, have been Conspicuously Dispens'd unto some that have done it here. But to Run from a Fight, is a thing too Cowardly sure for any New-Englander to be guilty of it! Let me Exhort you, in the words of that Famous General, 2 Sam. 10. 12. Be of good Courage, and let us play the men, for our people, and for the Cities of our God, and the Lord do that which may seem good unto Him. When the Day of Battel comes, then (to speak Apostolically) Quit you like men, be strong. It is the Glory of the Horse, and much more is it for the Souldier, his Rider, So, then to mock at Fear, and not be affrighted nor turn back from the Sword; but to go on Rejoycing to meet the Armed Men. Your Enemies have made themselves notorious for this Quality, That as Difficilius est invenire quam vincere, it is easier to kill them than to find them; so they can rarely Take any but [Page 28] a shaking Trembling Aim at one that boldly faces them. Face them then, and when you do it, imagine you have that voice from Heaven sounding in your Ears; Josh. 1. 9. Have not I commanded thee: [such a Commander have you!] Be strong, and of a good Courage; Be not affraid, neither be thou Dismay'd; for the Lord thy God is with thee, whithersoever thou goest. At the first Appearance of the Tawny Pagans, then Courage! bray Hearts: Fall on! Fall on Couragiously, with that Assurance in Psal. 3. 6, 7. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of the people that have set themselves against me. O my God, thou hast smitten all mine Enemies. Yea, when once you have but got the Track of those Ravenous howling Wolves then pursue them vigorously; Turn not back till they are consumed: Wound them that they shall not be able to Arise; Tho' they Cry; Let there be none to Save them; But Beat them small as the Dust before the Wind, and Cast them out, as the Dirt in the Streets. Let not the Expression seem Harsh, if I say unto you, Sacrifice them to the Ghosts of the Christians whom they have Murdered. They have horribly Murdered some scores of your dear Country-men, whose Blood cries in your Ears, while you are going to Fight, Vengeance, Dear Country-men! Vengeance upon our Murderers. Let your Courage, in the Name of God be daring enough to Execute that Vengeance on them.
But what Cordial shall I procure, which may [Page 29] inspire you with such a Valour? Let me set before you, a few Thoughts which may raise your Spirits to an Elevation, beyond what the Rattling Noises of any Drums or Trumpets can fetch them to.
CORDIALS.
Wherefore, First, Know that your Quarrel is Just. Indeed the Call and Press of your Superiours; is enough to justify you in doing of your part, for prosecuting of the War. If the injustice of a War be notoriously Evident and Apparent, Judicious Casuists then determine, that every private Souldier is to declare his own Dissatisfaction, and render himself rather Passive than Active in it, and Suffer, sooner than Engage; like Souls Footmen, when bidden to fall upon the Priests of the Lord. But where a War is not thus evidently and apparently unjust, the private Souldier must use an Implicit Reliance on the Command of the Supream Power: They must answer for it.
☞ Besides this; Your Superiours themselves have also enough and enough to justify Them, in pushing on the present War, with the utmost Expedition and Extremity. Such were the obscure measures taken at that time of Day, that the Rise of this War, hath been as dark as that of the River Nilus; only the Generality of Thinking people thro the Country, can remember when and why every one did foretel, A War. If any wild English (for there are such as well as of another Nation) did then, begin to provoke and Affront the Indians, [Page 30] yet those Indians had a fairer way to come by Right, than that of Blood-shed; nothing worthy of, or calling for any such Revenge was done unto them. The most injured among them all, (if there were any such ) were afterwards dismissed by the English, with Favours that were then admirable even to our selves; and These too, instead of surrendring the persons, did (as we are credibly informed) increase the Numbers, of the Murderers. But upon the Revolution of the Government, the State of the War, became wholly New; and we are more arriv'd unto Righteousness as the Light, and Justice as the Noon Day. When the Helm of this little Vessel was taken out of the Hands of those whose palpable Enmity to the Glorious Designs of His Highness the Prince of Orange, added unto the innumerable Oppressions and Vexations which we had sustained under them, had made us as Suspicious as we were Ignorant, what Port they intended for; we then found our selves actually Entangled in a War. A Great Sachim of the East, we then immediately applyed our selves unto, and with no small Expences to our selves, we Engaged Him, to Employ his Interest for a good understanding between us and the Party of Indians then in Hostility against us. This was the Likely, the Only Way, of coming at those Wandring Salvages; But that very Sachim now treacherously (by whose Advice, I know not) of an Embassador became a Traytor, and annexed himself with his [Page 31] people, to the Heard of our Enemies, which have since been ravaging, pillaging, and Murdering at a rate, which we ought to count, Intolerable. The Penacook Indians, of whom we were jealous, we likewise treated with; and while we were by our Kindnesses and Courtesies endeavouring to render them utterly Inexcusable, if ever they sought our Harm; even Then did These also, by some evil Instigation (the Divels, no doubt) quickly surprize a Plantation, where they had been civily entertained a Day or two before; and commit at once more Plunder and Murder, than can be heard with any patience. What can be now said, by any Rational man, against the proceeding of the War? Shall we permit the whole Province of Main to be over-run by the Indians (and their Abettors ) because the Manners of some people there please us not? But how can we answer this unto Their Majesties? or, are we Rich enough to Loose without Regret, the Best part of the New-English Trade? And are we so fond, so mad, as to imagine that the Indians will stop there? No, they have already made their Incursions into Piscataqua and in the Massachusets too have they been shedding Blood. Certainly, my Countrymen; 'Tis Time to Look about us, We are driven upon a purely Defensive War, which we may now make Justly Offensive to the first Aggressors in it. If you now ask, as he in Job 13. 14. Wherefore do I put my Life in my Hand? Behold, there is at Hand an Answer for you. 'Tis [Page 32] Because a combination of Ill Men (if such Beasts may be called Men ) have, without any cause Assigned by Them, or Afforded by us, been shedding the Blood of our Neighbours, whom we are to Love as our selves; and whose Death is Designed by those Execrable Cannibals, but as a Breakfast, or a Prologue, to praecede our own.
Secondly, Know that your Service is Good You are Fighting for the Defence and Succour of the Blessed Thrones which our David, our Jesus has here Erected for himself. 'Tis Christo Duce & Auspice Christo, 'tis for Christ, and with Christ, that you are concerned. You are Fighting for them, for which the Lord Jesus has Bled, has Dy'd. It was boasted by that Great General Scipio, That such was the Love of his Army to him, Every Souldier would even Leap from a Rock into the Sea after him, if he would Lead them thereunto. O let the Son of God have as much of your Hearts, in the War now before you; 'tis Him whom you are Serving of. 'Twas said, in 1. John 3. 16. We ought to lay down our Lives for the Brethren. 'Tis for such Brethren that your Lives are now called for; here is a Country so replenished with them, that New England the Happy, might we be called for the Christians here, more than Arabia so, for the Spices in it. You are Fighting, that the Churches of God may not be Extinguisht, and the Wigwams of Heathen swarming in their room: You are Fighting that the Children of God may not be made Meals or [Page 33] Slaves to the veriest Tygers upon Earth. To Dy Fighting in such a Service, may pass for a sort of Martyrdome: and if you are meerly for the sake of such a Service, willing to forego your Lives, you may hope to be found among the Blessed and Holy Ones, that shall have a part in the First Resurrection. Whether you Dy or Live, you shall be Honourable; if you Scape we will cast Roses upon you for having Acted your part well in our Tragedies; if you fall, we will write that Epitaph on your Graves, Here Lies a sincere, and Valiant, Servant of his Country.
Thirdly, Know that your helper is Great. You will be Too many for your Adversaries; inas much as, you have with you, the Hosts of the Lord; the very Angels are your Companions in your present Enterprize. An Angel said once to an Apostle, I am thy Fellow-Servant; and many an Angel does now say to you, I am your FellowSouldier. 'Tis mentioned as the Employment of the Angels, in Cant. 3. 7, 8. Behold, His Bed, which is Solomons; the Valiant are about it; they all hold Swords, being Expert in War; because of Fear in the Night. It is your Employment also; thus you stand about this Bed, this Church of the Lord Jesus, and the Angels are with you in it. But what cannot one Angel do? An Army of an Hundred Fourscore Five Thousand cannot stand before Him. How much more will the Innumerable Company of Angels associating with you, give you cause to say with him of old, There are more [Page 34] [...] against us! Yea, and you have the [...] Himself with you too. You may like [...] the Forty Sixth Psalm, when you see the Difficulties that you are put upon; and [...] those Clauses in it. The Lord of Hosts [...] with us; He makes Wars to cease unto the [...] of the Earth. Know that I am God. I will be Exalted among the Heathen. When some Souldiers were talking together the Night before a Doubtful Battel, That their Enemies were thus and so Numerous, but that Themselves had but such and such Forces to match them with; their Couragious General happening to over-hear them, surprised them with that Expression, And I pray, how many do you count ME for! In like manner, when you are anxious about the proportion of your Numbers, to those that may oppose you, the Blessed God interposes, And I pray, how many do you count me for? The Confession that New-England makes to the God of Heaven, is, The Lord is my King, my Lord, my Law-giver. We may add, He will save us. And you may sing with him, Psal. 18. 6, 12. The Lord is on my side, I will not fear. The Nations compassed me about like Bees, but in the Name of the Lord, I will destroy them all. Tho' you carry your Lives in your Hands, yet they are not in your own Hands; no they are in the Hands of that God, without whom not a Sparrow falls, and by whom every Bullet is directed. You may say, (as the Syriac version of my Text expresses it) My Life is continually [Page 35] in thy Hands, O God. The Good God will be careful of your Lives, and your Deaths will be precious to the Lord.
Know, Lastly That your Success is very probable. Indeed, God may Humble us, and Abase us, and vex us yet by that Foolish Nation, which he has let Loose upon us; but we may believe that They shall all shortly perish by the Arms of His New-English Israel. They! What are they, but Bloody and Deceitful men? And you may look to be Instruments of Executing what God has denounced on them, That they shall not Live out half their day. Even They themselves not only may, but perhaps Do expect utter Desolation, and Extirpation; and they would soon lay down their Arms, if he that hurried the Swine of old, had not a wonderful possession of them. That old Sagamore and Conjurer Passaconnoway, whose Posterity 'tis (among the rest) that we are now galled by [...] When he lay Dying about Thirty Years ago, did in a great Assembly of Indians, thus take his Farewel of his Children, I am ready to Dy (said he) and I now Leave this Counsil with you; Take heed how you Quarrel with the English; for tho' you may do them some Hurt, you will yourselves be all rooted out of the Earth, if you do. I was as great an Enemy to the English at their first coming here, as any one, & I try'd all mays to prevent their Settlement, but I am convinced, there can be no effecting of it. These Counsils and Commands are Disobeyed by some [Page 36] of his wicked Children; whose Dayes we may therefore think, shall not be Long in the Land. Indeed, They have none to Assist them, but the worst Auxiliaries in the World; the Divels and the Papists. The Divels have a great Hand in Exciting and Supporting of them; and hence the last Winter, from the mouth of a possessed Child among us They gave (I think) a very broad Notice of the Slaughters which the Summer would produce. That These have had a Long, and an Old Iinterest in America cannot be reasonably questioned by them that shall read what was written even before the Birth of our Saviour, by Diodorus Sicul [...]s, In very Ancient Times says he, the Phenicians tossed with Storms, after many days, arrived unto this Vast Island (as he calls it) which then had stately Buildings in it. Hither the Divels did seduce a wretched party of Mankind, that they might have them out of the Gospels Way when it spred thro' the Old World, by the Ministry of the Apostles; and here they have Reigned as Kings, as Gods, without control, over millions of people for Ages not a few. It has given a terrible Alarum to them, that the Silver Trumpets of the Gospel, are now at length sounding in their Territories, and it puts them into a Flaming Rage, that the Way to Salvation by Jesus Christ, is proclaimed here. Many are the Wiles which they have used, for the Discouragement of these Notable Beginnings in which our Lord Jesus is taking the utmost parts of the Earth [Page 37] for his Possession. Hence 'tis, that their V [...]ssais, who have more than once been disquieting of us in our Properties and Possessions; now have also taken Arms again to make us miserable. But as these Attempts and Attacques of Hell upon us, have been all Abortive heretofore, so we may Apprehend that they will still miscarry. The Barbarians may (as 'tis by Escaped Captives reported that they have ) by their Diabolical Charms, keep our Dogs from Hurting of them, but they shall not so keep our Swords from coming at them. Faith and Prayer among us, hath wonderfully made the Divels themselves to fly before it; so shall These too find unto their Cost. Tho' the Papists may likewise contribute what Help they can unto these Miscreants and say Mass with them (as of Late) after their Little Victories, yet we need not be disanimated; but the rather from thence prognosticate their Approaching Ruine. For we too much Distrust our own Observation, if we do not now think, that the whole Papal Expire, (which was of late replanting a Tabernacle in the Glorious Holy, Mountain between the Seas ) is very near its En [...], when none shall help it; and that the twelve Hundred and sixty Years, during which the people of God, were to be harrassed by it, are not far from their Expiration. In a word, you may go forth with such a Triumph as that in Psal. 20. 7, 8: Some Trust in Chariots, and some in Horses (some in Satan, and some in Antichrist) But wee will Remember the Name of the Lord our God. They are brought down and fallen; but wee are Risen and stand Upright.
And for a close, Let me mind you, that while you Fight, Wee'l pray. Every good man will do it, in secret and in private every day; and publick Supplications also will be always going for you. We will keep in the Mount with our Hands lifted up, while you are in the Field with your Lives in your Hands, against the Amalek that is now annoying this Israel in the Wilderness. It was the Watch Word which a Battel once Commenc'd withal Now for the Fruit of Prayer! Now for the Fruit of Prayer. To gather that Fruit will be your Errand into the Thickets of our Scythian Desarts.
[Page 38] I therefore conclude with a few
BLESSINGS
On you, which the whole people of God in this Land will say, Amen, unto.
We wish, That you may be all good Souldiers of Jesus Christ, and not want the spiritual Armour which may enable you to withstand Devils as well as Indians.
We wish, That since our Lord says unto you, as he said unto them, I send you forth as Sheep in the midst of Wolves; this Great Shepherd may preserve you from them, and with his mighty Crook defend you, when you come into the Valley of the shadow of Death.
We wish, That your Enemies may not have their Lives in their Hands, but in Gods Slings; and that God would Sling them out, as out of the middle of a Sling: While you that have your Lives in your Hands, may have your Souls bound up in the Bundle of Life.
Finally, we wish That your Heads may bee Covered in the Day of Battle; that you may by the Almighty God bee made the Liberatores Partie, the Saviours of your Countrey; and that if any of you must Breath your last in the High places of the Field, your Souls may bee Received by Him, that has Armies in Heaven, Clothed in fine Linen, White and Clean.
'Tis with these Wishes, that wee Bless you in the Name of the Eternal God; and the Whole Congregation will say, AMEN, AMEN!
At the North Meeting House in Boston 1 d. 7. m. Afternoon. 1689.Benedictus qui dat Fatigate Robur.