REV. WILLIAM BRIDGE, M.A.

FORMERLY FELLOW OF EMAXUEL COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE, AND PASTOR OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST IN GREAT YARMOUTH, NORFOLK.

NOW FIRST COLLECTED.

IN FIVE VOLUMES.

LONDON:

73, CHEA.PSIDE. 1845.

SEVENTEEN SERMONS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS AND OCCA SIONS.

Sermon 1. The True Soldier s Convoy: preached upon a Prayer Day for the Prince s good success in going forth to war. Numb. x. 35. . . 3

Sermon 2. Of Courage : to the Volunteers of the City of Norwich, and also to the Volunteers of Great Yarmouth. 2 Sam. x. 12 33

Sermon 3. The Diseases that make a stoppage to England s Mercies discovered, and attended with their Remedies. John vii. 4. .. .. 50

Sermon 4. Some Comfortable Directions for such as have been, or may be driven from their houses, goods, or Country. Lam. v. 2. . . 74

Sermon 5. Thankfulness required in every Condition. 1 Thess. v. 18 94

Sermon 6. The Woman of Canaan. Matt. \v. 21-28. 112

Sermon 7. A Vindication of Ordinances. Deut. xviii. 15.

Sermon 8. Grace and Love Beyond Gifts : preached before the Lord Mayor. 1 Cor. xii. 31. 162

Sermon 9. Of the Sin against the Holy Ghost : wherein is shewed, 1. What this sin against the Holy Ghost is ; 2. How and in what respect this sin against the Holy Ghost, is above all other sins the Unpardouable Sin. Matt. xii. 31, 32 187

Sermon 10. Of the Sin of Infirmity : wherein is shewed, besides other things, 1. That a man may pos sibly fall into the same sin again and again, yet be a true disciple ; 2. That this sin may be but a sin of infirmity ; 3. That being so, Christ will not leave him in it, but will come again, and not cast him off. Matt. xxvi. 43.

Sermon 11. The False Apostle Tried and Cast. Rev. ii. 2.

Sermon 12. The Good and Means of Establishment. 1 Pet. v. 10. . 260

Sermon 13.

Sermon 14.

Sermon 15.

Sermon 16.

Sermon 17.

EVANGELICAL III. 2.

Sermon 1. Sermon 2.

Babylon s Downfall: preached before the ho nourable House of Commons. Rev. xiv. 8.

On Zech. i. 18 21, ii. 1. : before the honour able House of Commons, at their Public Fast 314

The Saints Hiding Place in the Time of God s Anger i before the right honourable the House of Lords, at their solemn Monthly Fast. Zeph. ii. 3 346

England Saved with a Notwithstanding: before the honourable House of Commons, on the Day of Thanksgiving for Deliverance from the Powder Plot. Ps. cvi. 8. . . 373

Christ s Coming is at our Midnight: before the honourable House of Commons, on the Day appointed for Thanksgiving for the great Victory in Wales. Matt. xxv. 6. . . 405

REPENTANCE: IN TWO SERMONS ON MATT.

SERMONS

ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS AND OCCASIONS.

PREACHED A.D. 164065. NOW FIRST COLLECTED.

VOL. IV.

SERMONS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS.

SERMON I.

THE TRUE SOLDIER S CONVOY.

A SERMON PREACHED MAY 16, 1640, UPON A PRAYER DAY FOR THE PRINCE S GOOD SUCCESS IN GOING FORTH TO WAR.

" Thou hast broken Rahab in pieces as one that is slain; thoti hast scattered thine enemies with thy strong arm." Psalm Ixxxviii. 10.

PREFACE.

To THE READER. Reader, out of desire to the good of God s people, and in respect of these troublesome times, it was thought not altogether unfit by some friends to print these few notes, in reading of which thou art desired not to ex pect much completeness of dependency or style, as not being ordered to the press by Ihe Author himself, but by a very weak hand; whatsoever, therefore, thou shalt find herein profitable, that improve; if any thing otherwise, that cover by Christian love, and the God of love be with thee. Amen.

" Rise up, Lord, and let thine enemies be scattered." NUMB. x. 35.

THIS chapter delivereth itself into four parts: in the first part the author speaketh of the silver trumpets, and of the matter and use of them; secondly, he sheweth the march of the children of Israel under their several standards; thirdly, he speaketh of a conference had between Moses and Hobab, verse 29 ; and, fourthly, you have Moses* prayer: " And they departed from the mount, and the ark of the covenant of the Lord went before them in the three days journey, &c. And it came to pass when the ark set forward, that Moses said, Rise up, O Lord, and let thine enemies be scattered." When they removed, still they prayed. When they set forth with their army they used those words, " Arise, O Lord, and let thine enemies be scattered." When they returned with their army at the latter end of the year, or at any time, they said, " Return, O Lord, unto the many thousands of Israel."

You have here their going forth: " Arise, O Lord," &c.

4 TRUE SOLDIER S CONVOY. [Ssn. 1.

It is as if he had said thus: O Lord, thou hast promised thy presence to thy people, and therefore thou hast given them thine ark, the outward sign of thy presence; now we are to go forth to war, and that is a dangerous work, oh, let us not go alone, without thee, but let us have thy presence; where fore, " Arise, O Lord, and let thine enemies be scattered." He doth not say thus: O Lord, we entreat thee give us good munition or good provision, or (that which the world calleth the nerves of war) give us money; but, as if he would shew that God s presence is most desirable to an army, and that God s presence is their munition and provision, and containeth all things, he saith, " Arise, O Lord," &c.

These words contain something implied and something ex pressed. Implied, two things. 1. That God hath enemies: that seems to be granted. 2. That God sleepeth to his ene mies; therefore he saith, " Arise." These implied. Expres sed, three things. 1. The manner of the petition: and that is that God would arise. 2. The effect of God s rising: and that is, that his enemies may be scattered. 3. The occasion of this petition: that is, their going forth to war.

From these words, " Then Moses said," &c., accordingly there are five notes or observations that I intend, God willing, to run through at this time.

First, That God himself hath many enemies.

Secondly, As God hath enemies, so sometimes he sleepeth to all their enmity.

Thirdly, Though God sleepeth and they work, yet there is a time when they shall be scattered; and when God ariseth they are scattered.

Fourthly, Our prayers awaken God.

Fifthly, When the people of the land go forth to war, God s people should go forth to prayer.

First, God himself hath many enemies. Let none wonder at this, nay rather wonder that God hath any friends in the world, it is so wicked; the Scripture is full for it: " Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength, because of thine enemies," Psalm viii. 2 ; " But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of larr.bs," Psalm xxxvii. 20; " Thine enemies roar," &c. Ps. Ixxiv. 4. Ye know the Psalm, " For lo thine enemies, O Lord; for lo thine enemies," xcii. 9.

Those that are in league and covenant one with another have common friends and common enemies. God s children are in covenant with God, and therefore they having enemies, God hath enemies.

There is a special contrariety between God and the world: " The flesh lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh, for they are contrary," Gal. v. 17 Take but this one instance in this matter of contrariety to see how contrary God and the godly are to the devil and the wicked. Let a thing be never so bad, God and the godly will turn it to good and God s honour. Let a thing be never so good, the de vil and wicked men will turn it to bad and God s dishonour. Now enmity being nothing else but enlivened contrariety, and there being such a contrariety between God and the world, it cannot be but that God should have many enemies. That which maketh a thing so is more so. If a man loathe a beaker or vessel because physic hath been in it, he loathelh the physic much more; and if the world hate the godly be cause they are godly, then they hate God much more. Now the godly have many enemies, and that for this reason, be cause they are godly, therefore God himself hath more.

Further, when two are at a great distance and neither do yield, buckle, nor comply too or with one another, there must needs be a great enmity. Now, saith our Saviour Christ, " You cannot love God and mammon; you must love the one and hate the other." God will have no complying. And for this reason the senate of Rome, as the historians give it, would not acknowledge Jesus Christ to be a God: because he is such an one, say they, as if we acknowledge him to be God, he will not let us acknowledge other gods; other gods will comply, and be content we shall acknowledge others also, but for this Christ, if we acknowledge him we must acknow ledge none other. Now God is very incomplying in all his ways, therefore God himself must needs have many enemies, and very deadly. Hence we may see that it is no strange and new thing for us that are the people of God to meet with enemies. Why should we, be discouraged though we meet with enemies? Are we better than our Lord and Master? Shall God himself have many enemies and shall we think to have none? It was the complaint of a heathen man, Inimicos habeo, I have enemies: his friend standing by gave him

this answer, Sed pejus est quod amicos non habes, But that is worse, that thou hast no friends. Though a man have many enemies, yet if he hath some faithful friends he may comfort himself thus: Though I have most bitter and vile enemies, yet I have as fast and sure friends. So that here is a further argu ment to shore up our unbelieving hearts: God himself hath many enemies.

But my enemies are such as do pretend friendship; and truly so are God s enemies such as do pretend love. I pray you tell me, I put it to your own hearts, who are those that do pretend more love to God than the breakers of the second commandment, that do make images; and wherefore do they so? Say they, We will have an image of Christ wheresoever we be come that we may always be put in mind of Christ. What a mighty pretence of love is here; and yet the breakers of the second commandment are said to be haters of God. It is not said so of the breakers of any of the other com mandments that they are haters of God, but of those that break the second commandment; " visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth gene ration of them that hate me." So that though they pretend the most love, yet they are the most haters.

But for my enemies, the Lord knoweth I have done them no wrong, but good. I pray you hath not God done good unto his enemies? God hath many enemies, but what hurt hath God done them? Have you enemies? God hath so. Have you many enemies? God hath so. Have you many false enemies? God hath so. Remember this doctrine: God himself hath many enemies.

The second observation is: As the Lord hath many enemies so he is pleased for a time to sleep unto his enemies. He sleepeth; therefore it is said here, " Arise " arising is opposed to sleeping. Lord, why sleepest thou? Psalm xliv. 23. But what is that? Not that we should understand it literally, for so the prophet derided BaaPs priests: " Cry aloud, it may be your God sleepeth," 1 Kings xviii. 27; but understand it meta phorically: a man is said to be asleep when he is so intense about one business that he doth not regard another; that business which he doth not meddle with he is said to be asleep to: so, now, when God shall have many enemies, and they shall blaspheme his name, and revile his people, and hinder

his ordinances, and God shall be deaf to all their blasphemies, revilings, and all their wickedness; when they shall persist in evil, and bring their wicked devices to pass, and yet God shall be as it were blind to all their dealings; then God sleepeth to the enmity of his enemies. Would you know the reasons?

It may be the enemies are not yet great enough for God to contend with. The eagle doth not hunt after flies, and a lion doth not harness himself to battle against a poor worm. It may be the malice of the enemy is not yet great enough, and so is not a fit object for the great indignation of the great God, and therefore God suffereth them to go on that it might be a greater and a more full object to bear his indignation.

Again. Therefore God suiFereth this, and seemeth to sleep for a time, because his people are not provoked enough against their enemies. As it was with the children of Israel that went against Benjamin, and fell before them twice, if Israel had overcome them the first time, they would not have been so provoked against them to have cut them all off as they were; but being beaten by them twice, thereby they were provoked to their destruction. So God suffereth his enemies to prevail, and sleepeth to the case of his people for a time, because the hearts of his people are not stirred enough against their enemies to cut them off fully; when that is done, then God awaketh.

Again, sometimes God sleepeth because his people sleep to him, and say, Arise, to something else. They sleep to him. It was the speech of an emperor when he was in prison, Oh, said he, when I was in my palace, I hoped so much in men, that I neglected trusting in God; but now I am in prison, I may hope less in men, and trust more in God. So it may be there is a time, when God s people do fall asleep to God; hope too much in men, and not enough in God. Now, saith the prophet, " Woe to him that saith to the stone, Arise," Hab. xi. 19. Shall God arise to his peo ple, when they say to the stone, Arise? Shall God arise for his people, when they sit down and arise not up themselves? Brethren, faith is prayer in the coals, and prayer is faith in the flame; now it may be men s faith doth not burn out enough, it burneth dark; they pray, but are not hot in prayer; they live, but they do not live out of themselves in

God enough. Wherefore that God may awaken his people, he sleepeth himself.

Sometimes it is for this end; because the pit of his ene mies is not yet digged. Consider that Psalm xciv. 12, 13, " Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O Lord, and teachest him out of thy law; that thou mayest give him rest from the days of adversity, until the pit be digged for the wicked." There is a time when the pit of the wicked is dig ging, and all that time God s people may be in suffering. God suffereth the wicked to run away with the bait, and doth not yet draw them, because they are not full on the hook; but when they have swallowed the hook, then he will draw them.

Hence we may see what the reason is many times, why there is so much evil in the churches, and why the enemies prevail so much, so long. God is the strength of the churches, and our strength sleepeth sometimes upon all the afflictions of the churches. We are apt to be much dis couraged, like the disciples, who whilst our Saviour was in the storm asleep, they came running in all haste to him, say ing, " Carest thou not that we perish? " So it is many times when a storm ariseth upon the church, God seemeth to sleep, and we run in haste to God, and are apt to charge God, Lord, carest thou not that we perish? But, peace, peace, he sleepeth only, he will awake shortly, you shall see it, and they shall feel it. For,

The third point tells us, that though God seem to sleep, and his enemies prevail; yet there is a time when they shall be scattered, and when God ariseth they are scattered. There are two parts in this doctrine, I will handle them severally.

1. Though the enemies of the Lord do prevail, and God seemeth to sleep ; yet there is a time when they shall be scattered. In that Psalm Ixviii. 1, you have the same words that are here ; " Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered." In the following part of the Psalm, verse 12, it is said, " Kings of armies did flee apace/" In the Hebrew it is : They fled, they fled ; fled, is twice. Why so ? That is, they did flee very hastily, and they fled most confusedly, they fled all ways ; they fled, they fled, noting the greatness of the flight.

If it were not so, how should God be honoured in the world? God is resolved to recover his honour, his truth,

and his justice out of the hands of the world. Saith the Psalmist, " He will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked: so that a man shall say, Verily, there is a reward for the righteous; verily, he is a God that judgeth in the earth," Psalm Iviii. 10. But did they not know it before, that God ruleth in the earth? True, but men will not say all that for God always which their hearts know, and the glut of prospe rity often doth quench their knowledge; but when God s judgments are abroad, then men shall say, (he doth not say godly men, but then men shall say,) though they be but bare men, they shall say, &c. Oh, it is a sweet time when ungodly men shall own their own principles. And if you look into Psalm Ixviii. 11, you shall find when the enemies of the church are destroyed, that God hath many preachers made that do teach his praises. Saith the psalmist, verse 12, " The Lord gave the word, great was the company of those that published it: kings ot armies did flee apace, and she that tarried at home divided the spoil." The words in the origi nal are very significant, and do note two things. First, the word which you read company,in the Hebrew it is,army: "great was the army " of preachers. An army of preachers is a great matter; nay, it is a great matter to have seven or eight good preachers in a great army; but to have a whole army of preachers, that is glorious. Secondly, it doth note out the heartiness of this preaching army; for the word nephesh, soul, is to be understood as in that place of Ecclesiastes; it is said there, "The words or book of the preacher," which being in the feminine gender, doth suppose nephesh,a.nd as if he should say, as Vatablus hath it: The words or book of him that hath a preaching soul or heart, or the words of a preaching soul or heart. So here, where it is said, great is the army of preach ers; the word being in the feminine gender, it is as if he should say, great is the army of preaching souls, whose very hearts within them shall preach of the Lord s works. Now, my brethren, it is much to have a preaching army; but if this army shall with heart and soul preach of God s praise, oh, that is a blessed thing. Yet thus shall it be, when the enemies of God shall be destroyed. And therefore, seeing God will not lose all those sermons of his own praises, in due time the enemies of the church shall be scattered.

Again, all the plots and projects of God s enemies lie

under a curse. Now the curse scattereth, and the blessing gathereth. When God blessed,, then the people were gath ered; when God curseth, then they are scattered. You know when Jacob was to bless his children, instead of bles sing Levi, he seemeth to pronounce a curse upon them, that they should be scattered in Israel. Gen. xlix. 7- Surely it is a part of the curse to be scattered, and the enemies of God and his people are always under the curse; and, as a learned, holy divine of your own hath it, They are never prayed for. But look, as it is with some grass that groweth on the house top, though it be higher than that which grows in the field, yet no man prays for it, and no man saith, The Lord bless it. But the grass and corn that grows in the field, the men that come by, say, There is a good crop of corn, the Lord bless it. So, though wicked men and the enemies of the church, do perk up higher than the rest, yet they are never under prayer, but always under the curse, and therefore no wonder though they be scattered.

God will lay men s ways upon their own heads: the fish shall be boiled in the water it lived in, and men destroyed by the same way they walked in. Therefore in Psalm lix., you shall see how sin is answered with the like punishment. The psalmist speaking concerning his enemies, ver. 6, 7> " They return at evening, tbey make a noise like a dog, and go round about the city. Behold they belch out with their mouth, swords are in their lips." That is, they revile, they jeer and scorn at the godly: there is their sin. Now look into the latter end of the Psalm, at ver. 14, you shall see their an swerable punishment: " And at evening they shall return, and make a noise like a dog, and go about the city; let them wander up and down for meat, and grudge if they be not satisfied." As they went about the city, barking and making a noise like dogs, so shall they go about the city howling like dogs: thus God will answer men in their own kind. Was not Adonibezek punished in his own kind, Judg. i. 7 ; Egypt in its own kind; and the Jews of old in their own kind? This is God s method still; and therefore if you compare Rev. viii. and ix. with Rev. xvi., you shall see that the trumpets and the vials are alike, and some take them to be all one; but the trumpets note out the time when the sins are committed, and the vials the time when the punishments are inflicted. But the evils

mentioned in both are much alike, because God proportioneth men s punishment to their own sins. Now the enemies of the church have scattered themselves up and down to do mischief. How are the Jesuits and the locusts of our time, scattered up and down in all places! They have scattered God s people, and they scatter their own sins wheresoever they be come. Therefore there must come a scattering time for themselves also, for that is equal.

You will say, Do we not see the contrary? Our eyes are witnesses of the contrary. We see the people of God are scattered, but we do not see the enemies are scattered.

It is true God s people are scattered, and truly it is the remainder of the curse upon them, for which we are to be humbled. Though God provides a place for us in the world, yet ceitainly it is some part of the curse, to have our names changed from Israel to Jezreel. This is God s way, that what evil he doth afterward bring upon his enemies, he doth many times first bring it upon his own friends, by his and their enemies. He first sleepeth to them, then he awaketh for them. But to answer: God s people are often scattered; but though they be scattered, yet there is much difference between their and the world s scattering. The scattering of God s children is turned into a blessing to them; the scattering of his enemies is a curse, and so it endeth. A plain instance for it you have in Levi: saith Jacob, " Let them be divided in Jacob, and scattered in Israel," Gen. xxix. 7- yet that proved a great blessing, for the tribe of Levi being scattered among all the tribes, by that means all the tribes had preachers. So now it is in the scattering of the saints, though they be scat tered into divers places, yet they are made thereby a blessing to many countries; hereby they carry truths into other places; hereby they are cleansed from their own filthiness; hereby they learn to walk more humbly; hereby they learn to die daily to the world and outward comforts; hereby they are weaned from their friends and all natural engagements; hereby they are made more conformable to Jesus Christ, who was a stranger upon earth; hereby they meet with many experiences; hereby they see many promises fulfilled; hereby they enjoy the ordinances of God in a purer manner than before; so that all their scatterings are blessings to them.

Though the people of God be scattered, yet they are gathered

again, for " great shall be the day of Jezreel," Hosea i. 1 1 . Yet more fully, Jer. xxiii. 2, 3, 4 : " Therefore thus saith the Lord God of Israel, against the pastors that feed my people: Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doing, saith the Lord, and I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds, and they shall be fruitful and increase, and I will set up shepherds over them, which shall feed them; and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the Lord." Yea, they are therefore scattered, that they may be better gathered. Ezek. xxxiv. 11, 17 ; " Thus saith the Lord God, behold I, even I will both search my sheep and seek them out, as a shepherd seeketh out his flock, in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered. Thus saith the Lord God, be hold I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams and the he-goats." Before their scattering the goats were min gled with the flock; upon their gathering, the goats were separated. A good garment may be ripped into pieces that it may be better sewed. Good is that speech of Augustine: He that killeth, considereth not how he slasheth and rend- eth; but he that cutteth to cure, considereth how he cutteth.* Or thus, suppose a man be to cut two men, the one to cure him, the other to kill him; that man which he cutteth to cure, he considereth how he cutteth him, but he taketh no care how he slasheth him whom he intendeth to kill. So doth God deal in the cuttings and scatterings of his own children and the vile world. Or thus: an army you know may be scattered two ways; the soldiers when they come from their trenches, every one goeth to his hut, and the whole army is in some measure scattered and divided, but in order; this is an orderly scattering: but when they are routed, that is another scattering, wherein there is no order. God s people are scattered as those that go to their huts, but the wicked are scattered otherwise, their scattering is a full routing, that is never gathered. This is the punishment of the enemies of the church, they shall be scattered.

If so, hence we may see what a lamentable thing it is to

* Qui trucidat non considerat quo modo laniat, qui curat considerat quo modo sicat.