: And that rock was Christ. Why? but because the rock and water was a special type of Christ. Now if we look into the history, we shall find, that the waters of the rock, whereby Israel were saved from death, was given with a notwithstanding they murmured, and sinned much through unbelief; yet the Lord struck the rock, and waters came forth like honey; yea, and the apostle tells us that the rock followed them, they did not follow the rock, but the rock went after them. And when Christ himself came into the world, ye may read in Luke iii. what a pack of wicked men were then in Judea that were in office; Pontius Pilate, Herod, Annas and Caiaphas; yet then, even then did Christ come notwithstanding all the malice of those tyrants and times. And if ye look into Isa. lvii. 17, ye may read a clear proof of all this, "For the iniquity of his covetousness was I wroth, and smote him: I hid me, and was wroth, and he went on frowardly in the way of his heart." What then? "I have seen his ways," verse 18, "I will heal him: I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him, and to his mourners.' All this is spoken of a people, as well as of a particular perHere is mercy, here is love, here is pardon with a notwithstanding. So that God doth sometimes save his people with a notwithstanding all their sins. That is the first reason. son. دو Again, if God should not shew mercy to his people with a notwithstanding; how should the glory of his mercy appear ? If a physician should only cure a man that hath the head-ache or tooth-ache; one that hath taken cold, or some small disease; it would not argue any great skill and excellency in the physician. But when a man is nigh unto death, hath one foot in the grave, or is, in the eye of reason, past all recovery; if then the physician cure him, it argues much the skill and excellency of that physician. So now, if God should only cure, and save a people that were less evil and wicked; or that were good indeed, where should the excellency of mercy appear? But when a people shall be drawing on, lying bed-rid, as it were, and the Lord out of his free love, for his own name's sake, shall rise, and cure such an unworthy people, this sets out the glory of his mercy. Read therefore, and consider what is said in Ps. lxxxvii. 3. Glorious things are spoken of thee: but rather, according to the Hebrew, in thee, O thou city of God.* What are those glorious things? Verse 4, I will make mention of Rahab, and Babylon, to them that know me: Rahab signifies, pride and insolence; for Egypt dealt proudly and insolently with the people of God; Babylon also oppressed them sorely, and held them in captivity; yet, says the Lord, I will make mention of Egypt and Babylon to them that know me. Yea, Philistia, and Tyre, and Ethiopia; men and people that were very wicked, shall be found with the saints; the Lord will take special notice of them, as of those in Zion. What then? Then glorious things shall be spoken in thee. Mercy is never glorious, but when it is rich; it is never rich, but when it is free; and the more free it is, and works with a notwithstanding, the more glorious it is. Now God, who is the God of glory, will have his mercy, which is his glory, made glorious; and therefore, though the sin of a people be exceeding great, and very heinous, yet he will sometimes save them for his own name's sake, with a notwithstanding all their sins. If God doth sometimes save a people with a notwithstanding all their sin: then it is possible, I see nothing in the word contrary to it, but that England, Scotland, Ireland, may yet be saved, with an outward salvation, notwithstanding all our fears, notwithstanding all our sins. The Lord saved Israel, brought them out of Egypt through the Red Sea, notwithstanding all their rebellion. The Lord saved Lot out of Sodom, notwithstanding he saw what he would do with his two daughters afterward. The Lord saved Israel out of Babylon, notwithstanding that they were loth to depart, and were grown exceeding vile and very wicked there. The Jews were a people that were under the law; indeed they were saved by the same covenant of grace that we are, and by Jesus Christ as we are, yet were under the law, for God dealt with them in a more legal way and manner than he doth deal by us. And did the Lord's grace and free love so strive upon them, as to save them with a notwithstanding, and shall not his grace and love now strive upon his gospelpeople, to save, and deliver them with a notwithstanding? Were they under the law, and yet saved by grace? Did the Lord save the Mosaical Israel, for his own name's sake, with * gloriosa dicta in te.-Ar. Mont. a notwithstanding; and shall he not save christian Israel, in a way of free love, with a notwithstanding also? Surely the Lord is as full of grace now, in the times of the New Testament, as ever he was in the times of the Old Testament. But we are a people that have been much defiled with the superstitions of the former times, and the idolatry thereof. And was not Israel so in the land of Egypt? read Ezek. xx. Oh, but since the Lord hath been pleased to come among us, and make a tender, and offer of reformation, we have been unwilling to it. True, but were not Israel unwilling to go out of the land of Egypt? But we are not only unwilling, but we have risen up against, and murmured, and chidden with those that would have been our reformers. And did not Israel chide with Moses? Oh, but we have sinned worse than they, for we have sinned greatly in the face of all those glorious mercies, which God hath shewed of late among us. And I pray consider it, was it not thus with Israel? It is said in the verse precedent; They rebelled at the sea, even at the Red Sea. Or, as in the Hebrew, even in the Red Sea:* when the waters stood like walls on both sides of them; when they saw those walls of waters that never people saw before, and saw the power, the infinite power of God leading them through on dry land; then did they rebel, at the sea, even in the sea; and yet for all this the Lord saved them, he saved them with a notwithstanding all this. And I say, shall the Lord put forth so much of grace upon a people, that were under the law; and not put forth much more of his grace upon those that are under the gospel? O England, England, I cannot write thee lost or forsaken; thou mayest yet be saved, I speak of outward salvation, thou mayest yet be saved, notwithstanding all thy fears, and all thy sins. * Dinary. Græc. Και παρεπικριναν αναβαινονες εν τη ερυθρα Jaλaoon. Vulg. lat. in mare. Hieron. in mari rubro; erant in grandi et præsenti, et inevitabili discrimine constituti. nam Egyptii a tergo, montibus impediebantur ne vel ad dextram vel ad sinistram declinare, mari vero ne progredi possent occludebantur: hisce augustiis inclusi murmurabant et rebellabant ubi potissimum divinæ bonitatis memoria vigere debet.-Muscul. in Nas. Yea, the Lord hath saved us, he hath saved us with a not withstanding: as great and large a people and nation were saved with. notwithstanding as ever deliverance of this day. When the powder-treason was on foot, what a dark night of security had trodden upon the glory of our English day? Then did our strength lie fast asleep in the lap of Dalilah. What pride, oppression, courtuncleanness, superstitions, and persecutions of the saints then, under the name of Puritans! Nevertheless he saved us, and our fathers. And now of late what bitterness of spirit among professors; what divisions; oppressions, instead of justice; what new-fangled prides; what unwillingness to be reformed? Time was heretofore when we did call for truth, and cried aloud for truth; oh, that we might know the truth. But now we deal by truth, as the friar said the people did by their holy-water; Ye call, and cry, said he, for holy water, but when the sexton sprinkles it, ye turn away your faces, and it falls upon your backs. So the times were heretofore that we called, and cried out for truth, truth: it is now come unto you, we would sprinkle it upon you, but you turn away your faces from it, and it falls upon your backs. And is there not as much swearing, drunkenness, profaneness still as before? I read of a street in Rome, called Vicus Sobrius, the sober street: because there was never an ale-house to be found in it. And upon this account, I think there will be never a sober street in England; or very rare. As for the precious ordinances of Jesus Christ, never so slighted, and rejected as now. Nevertheless, the Lord hath saved us; yea, he hath saved us with a great salvation; I may say, miraculous salvation: oh, if ever people were saved in a way of free love, and with a notwithstanding, thus are we saved here in England. But suppose it be So, that the Lord hath saved us with a notwithstanding, for his own name's sake, out of his mercy and free love what is our duty that doth flow from hence? If the Lord doth save us with a notwithstanding, for his own name's sake, out of mere grace; then, what mighty engagements are upon us all, to become gracious; to repent of, and turn from our former sins, notwithstanding which he hath saved us. An ungracious heart may possibly mourn for sin that it may be pardoned; but an ingenuous, gracious heart, will mourn for sin because it is pardoned. Yea, and the more he apprehends that his sin is pardoned, the more he will, and doth mourn for it. We read of David, that he had sinned greatly, and he lay long therein without testimony of repentance: at the last, he breaks out into a penitential psalm, the list, and there he melts, and breaks all to pieces in repentance. When was that psalm made? The title tells us, A Psalm of David; when Nathan the prophet came unto him, that is after Nathan the prophet had come. And what did Nathan say to him, but "thy sin is forgiven thee;" whereupon he did melt into that repentance. So now, when a person doth truly consider how many notwithstandings the Lord doth carry his conversion through, then he doth melt indeed, if there be ingenuousness in him. Oh, says he, I was a poor ignorant man, a drunkard, a swearer, an opposer, and a jeerer at goodness and good men ; yet the Lord saved me, shewed mercy to me, notwithstanding all this: and therefore, what infinite cause have I to be humbled for sin committed; here he breaks, and melts. And if ye look into Ezra ix., ye shall find that nothing did so melt and break his heart as this, that the people sinned against the free love of God, verse 6., "O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God: for now for a little space grace hath been shewed from the Lord our God, to leave us a remnant to escape and to give us a nail in his holy place." verse 10, " And now O our God, what shall we say after this? for we have forsaken thy commandments." verse 13, " And after all that is come upon us, for our evil deeds, and for our great trespass, seeing that thou our God hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and hast given us such deliverance as this: should we again break thy commandments, and join in affinity with the people of these abominations? O Lord our God, thou art righteous, for we remain yet escaped: behold we are before thee in our trespasses: for we cannot stand before thee, because of this." So say I, hath the Lord shewed mercy to us with a notwithstanding all our sins; and shall we sin against him notwithstanding all his mercies; how shall we stand before him because of this? Surely, the latter end will be sad and smart. Ye read of the children of Israel's |