* gels, the breadth and height of the wall, and the solid continent ^ of the whole city, are nothing else but a replication still of twelve ^ throughout ; That is to say, till that church appear which i§
* purely apostolical in doctrine and worship.'
England is said to be the nrst kingdom that received the gospel with the countenance of supreme authority. This was its honour ; and to be the first that breaks off from Antichrist, will be as great an honour as the former. The rest are to follow in their order. O what a leading mercy is the mercy of this day !
(5.) Then may a work of God be stiled great and magnificent, when the Lord carries it on through great difficulties and seeming- imjx)ssibilities. The greater the difficulties in the way, the greater must the mercy be when it arrives to us through them all. Thus came the Israelites into the land of promise, Psal. Ixvi. 12. " Thou *' causedst men to ride over our heads ; we went through fire, *' and through water ; but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy *' place."" To pass through fire and water is a proverbial speech, noting the greatest difficulties, and deadly dangers : such was that at the Red Sea. A deliverance out of such dangers may be called life out of death, and such have our deliverances been. Our ene- mies had grasped all power into their hands, and were full c^ con- fidence ; they were folded together as thorns, and drunk as drunk- ards, as the prophet expresses it, Nah. i. lO. Strong combinations^ and answerable confidence, and security of the event ; but when the time of mercy was come, armies, navies, counsels, foreign con^ federates, and all give way to the design of mercy. And what ara all the mountains before Zerubbabel ?■ '
(6.) That which exceedingly greatens a merey or. deliverance is the seasonahlencss thereof, when it nicks the proper season, comes in the most opportune time. Deut. xxxii. 36. " The Lord sliall
* Tke Mystery of Godliness, 1. 5. c. 17. printed 1660k
"judge his people, and repent himself for his servants; when he " seeth that their power is gone, and that there is none shut up or « left." The Lord suffers the danger to come to an extremity, and then in the mount of difficulties and straits he appears ; if deliver- ance should come sooner, it would be less valued ; and if later, itj would come too late for our comfort. He is a God of judgment, and all liis works are made beautiful by their seasonableness. How the case stood with the protestant interest in Europe when God be- gan to stir up the spirits of the princes to commiserate and relieve it, we all know : our enemies looked upon us as their sure prey, and \ye could not but look upon ourselves in great hazard. The Lord suffered the mischief conceived to go to the parturient fulness of its time, and then gave it a miscarrying womb. "VVho is like unto the Lord ? And what works are like his works ?
(7.) In a word, then is a work of mercy truly great, when it brings forth invaluable blessings at a cheap rate, when enjoyments and comforts, more worth than our lives, come at easy rates to our hands.
You read, Isa. ix. 5. " Every battle of the warrior is ^vith con- ^' fused noise, and garments rolled in blood."" War is terrible and costly, especially civil wars. When a nation, like a candle lighted at both ends, quickly consumes dnd melts down in the middle. There are confused noises in battles, terrible to hear; the thunder,, ing of drums, and sound of trumpets ; the neighing of horses, and shouts of armies ; the roaring of cannons, and shrieks and groans of dying men ; these are confused noises indeed : and yet it is worth enduring all this, to hear the joyful sound of the gospel, and pre- serve the pure reformed religion in the midst of us : it were better to part with our blood, than the gospel ; exhaust our treasure, and kave our children poor, than divest them of the best of blessings, and leave them to be trained up in idolatry, and stretch out their hands to a strange god.
But lo, what hath God wrought for England ! you have those mercies that have cost others dear, and they have cost you nothing ; you have sold yourselves for nothing, and are redeemed without price : your God hath been liberal in mercy, but sparing of blood. Such mercies, so many mercies without a stroke ! according to this time, it shall be said. What hath God wrought.
Thus you see what these mercies are wherein God shews his greatness.
Secondly^ In the next place, let us consider what that suitable sense, or those answerable impressions are, which such great mer- cies call for. Moses, in the text, expresses a very becoming sense of the great things God had begun to do fqr him aad his people ;
O that there were such a heart in us this day. Now there are five tilings wherein the comely behaviour of our souls towards God, under great mercies, doth consist.
(1.) In our eyeing the hand of God in the mercy, and thankful ascriptions of all the glory and praise to his name. So doth Moses in the text, ^' Thou hast begun to shew thy servant thy greatness, *' and thy mighty hand."" The Israelites were a great host, six hundred thousand men that marched out of Egypt, an army suffi- cient to invade and subdue a far greater country than Canaan was ; but Moses looks off from them, and ascribes a)\ their successes and victories to the hand of God : not my might?/ host, but thTf mighty hand. God affects not social glory ; the dividing of the praise forfeits the mercy. He that doth all in us and for us., ex- pects justly the praise and glory of all from us. Psal. cxv. 1. " Not '' unto us, not unto us, but unto thy name, give glory." Here is a double negative, and no more than need ; for there is double danger of the creature^s invading the rights of heaven and sacri- legious usurpation of God's peculiar praise. Let us therefore look off from armies and navies, from the prudent conduct and courage of men, and see the hand of God in all the great and marvellous things wrought in the midst of us this day.
(2.) It is decorous, and suitable to great mercies, to have our hearts filled with joy and cheerfulness answerable to them : praise is comely for the upright. As it would be our sin to mourn when God smites and rebukes us ; so will it also, not to rejoice when he cheers and comforts us. It is not our liberty only, but our duty to rejoice in such works of mercy as these are. Isa. Ixv. 18. " But be ye glad, and rejoice for ever in that which I create ; " for behold I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy." Methinks joy should not be under a Christianas command, when he sees what God is creating for Jerusalem. As the morning-stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy at the creation of the world ; so should all his sons and daughters sing, and shout at this new creation of the new heavens, and the new earth.