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amazing, and astonishing judgments of God upon Antichrist, that they shall repent, worship him, and give glory to him. _ 0 sirs ! when God strikes slaves, sons should tremble. Great judgments upon sinners speaks out a great deal of the justice and holiness of God ; and the more the justice and holiness of God appears, the more holy his people should grow. Ah, Christians ! had you grown more holy by those severe judgments of God that hath been inflicted upon others before your eyes, you had not been under those smart rebukes of God that now you are under this day! But,
[7.] Seventhly, When men are called forth to war by God. Oh I that is a special time and season wherein God calls aloud for holiness. The man of war must have holiness written upon the bridles of the horses, Zech. xiv. 20. When men carry their lives in their hands, they had need of holiness in their hearts ; when in every encounter a man must expect to enter upon a state of eternity, he had need be very holy, that so if he should fall in the encounter, he may be sure to be happy : i Deut. xxiii. 9, 14, ' When the host goeth forth against thine enemies, then keep thee from every wicked thing. For the Lord thy God walketh in the midst of thy camp, to deliver thee, and to give up thine enemies before thee : therefore shall thy camp be holy, that he see no unclean thing in thee, and turn away from thee.' When the sword devoureth on both hands, when it eats the flesh of nobles, and drinks the blood of nobles ; when it feeds upon the flesh of the poor, and drinks the blood of the needy, then every soldier had need be a saint. When an eternity of glory and misery is every moment before every soldier, every soldier had need walk very accurately, he had need live very holily. Mark, though the people of God were to keep themselves from every wicked thing at all other times, yet when they went out against their enemies, then in a special manner it highly concerned them to keep themselves not from some, but from every evil thing, or rather, as the Hebrew hath it, from every evil word, -]21 dabar. He that is in danger of death every step he takes, and that carries his very soul in his hand, had need precisely to abstain not only from every evil work, but also from every evil word, as here God expressly charges Israel to do. When God finds holiness in Israel's camp, then God will quickly give up Israel's enemies into Israel's hands ; but when the camp becomes a den of iniquity, then God will depart from the camp ; and when God, who is the bulwark of a camp, is departed, all the world cannot preserve that camp from being de- stroyed. The Lamb looks that all those brave hearts that engage with him against Antichrist, should be called, and chosen, and faith- ful, Kev. xvii. 14. There is no armour of proof to that of holiness. Let a man be never so well mounted, clothed, armed, weaponed, yet if he be unholy, he lies naked and open to all disasters, calamities, and miseries. 0 sirs ! it is one of the dreadfullest things in the world to hear such a-cursing, swearing, lying, and damning of themselves, and to see such a-giving up themselves to work all manner of wicked- ness with greediness, who carry their lives in their hands every hour in the day; yea, at whose elbows damnation stands every moment. 0
^ The Komans lived more orderly in time of war than in the times of their greatest peace.
HeB. XII. 14.] AND BEAUTY OF HOLINESS. 443
sirs ! when God gives the sword a commission to eat flesh, and drink blood, to slay both old and yonng, to spare none that come before it, and to pity none that come nigh unto it, it highly concerns all men to be holy. This is a special season wherein God calls aloud for holiness.
I confess I am for peace and truth, for peace and righteousness, for peace and holiness, against all war in the world ; but whenever the Lord shall call forth his people to fight his battles against Antichrist, and to smite Daniel's image in pieces, it stands them very much upon to be a holy people, yea, to be eminently holy, as they would have the presence of God with them, and the power of God engaged for them, and the mercy, goodness, and blessing of God succeeding and prosper- ing of them, 1 Sam. xxv. 28 ; Dan. ii. 31 , et seq. Though he that goes to war had need carry his purse with him, yet he must be sure to leave his sins behind him, or else his sins will do him more mischief than all his enemies, for they will set God against him ; and how can straw and stubble possibly stand before a consuming fire ?
I have read of Xerxes, that viewing almost an innumerable army of men, he fell a-weeping, saying, Where will all these men be within a hundred years ? He wept to think that all that mighty army would be in their graves within a himdred years. Ah, what cause of weep- ing is there when we behold most armies in the world, considering that within a few years, yea, months, for anything we know, they may be most in hell, except there be found repentance on their sides, and pardoning mercy on God's, they are so abominable, debauched, and wicked. But,
[8.] Eighthly, Wlien God hath separated and severed his people from the corrupt and sinful customs and manners of the world, and brought them into fellowship ivith himself and into gospel-communion with one another, oh, then, in a special manner he calls aloud upon them to be holy : Lev. xx. 23, 24, 26, ' And ye shall not walk in the manners of the nation, which I cast out before you ; for they com- mitted all these things, and therefore I abhorred them. But I have said unto you, ye shall inherit their land, and I will give it unto you to possess it, a land that floweth with milk and honey : I am the Lord your God, which have separated you from other people. And ye shall be holy unto me ; for I the Lord am holy, and have severed you from other people, that you should be mine.' Distinguisliing mercies should breed and nourish distinguishing qualities, 0 sirs, it is not for you who are separated and severed from the world by God to be proud, and carnal, and formal, and distrustful, and hypocritical, and earthly, and fro ward, &c., as the world is ! it is not for you to deny your principles, to debauch your consciences, to change your notes, to turn your coats, to defile your souls, to blot your names, and to scandalise your pro- fession ! 0 sirs, if God hath separated you, and severed you from the world by a call from heaven, it highly concerns you not to think as the world thinks, nor to speak as the world speaks, nor to judge as the world judges, nor to walk as the world walks, nor to worship as the world worships, but so to think, speak, judge, walk, and worship as may make most for the honour of God, the glory of the gospel, and as best becomes those that have had the honour and the
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happiness of being separated and severed by God from the world. But,