again, for "great shall be the day of Jezreel," Hosea i. 11. 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, behold I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams and the he-goats." Before their scattering the goats were mingled 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 rendeth; 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.

be an enemy of God. This is the portion of all the enemies of God. they shall be scattered. Lamentable is their con dition, therefore, that are God's enemies. Brethren, God is the best friend and the worst enemy. If God be my friend, what though I have many enemies! Affliction shall be all rated off in due time, as the dog is when he falleth upon a friend. If the dog fall upon a thief or an enemy, we let him alone, he hath leave to worry him. When afflictions seize upon God's people, in due time they are chidden off; but when they fall upon God's enemies, they shall not be rated off, they may worry them, and the venom of their teeth shall abide in them to all eternity. The text saith, "As for those mine enemies," &c. It is some grief to be slain before justice, but before mercy itself, that is more grievous. It is some grief to be slain before those that cannot help, but to have help stand by and not help, that is most bitter. Such is Christ, he is our help, he is our merciful High Priest, and yet he saith," As for those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither and slay them before me," Luke xix. 27. Oh, what a sad thing it is to be God's enemy.

But who are those enemies?

You will all say thus, that if a man seeth the picture of another, and as soon as he seeth it he falleth a tearing of it; and the more like the picture is to the man, the more he teareth it; surely this man was an enemy to him whom the picture is like unto. So when men shall fall a tearing of God's people, and therefore because they are godly, are not they enemies to God?

Such as go There is no

Consider Psalm lxviii. 21, there is a plain place to shew you who are God's enemies. Saith the psalmist, "But God shall wound the head of his enemies, and the hairy scalp of such an one as goes on still in his trespasses." on still in their trespasses are God's enemies. child of God but may and doth fall into sin; he may fail in his speech and in his practice; but it is the character of the world to "lie in wickedness," 1 John v. 19. And therefore, know you such an one as hath been a drunkard, and a drunkard still; a swearer eight, nine, or ten years ago, and a swearer still; a sabbath-breaker, a liar, an adulterer, a great while ago, and so still, that man is an enemy, and in due

time the Lord will wound the hairy scalp of such a ruffian, for he is an enemy.

When a man cannot endure to hear of the welfare and good success of the churches, and of the ordinances of God, that is a sign they are God's enemies. A man loveth to hear good of him that he loveth. If a man love God, he loveth to hear good of God and all that belongeth to him; of the churches, and of all the ordinances: but when men hear of good news of the churches, and of the ordinances, and do secretly grudge, repine, and wish it otherwise, these are now secret enemies, and will be open.

The scripture phrase telleth us who are God's enemies. Saith the psalmist, "Lord, make plain thy way before my face, because of mine enemies," Ps. v. 8. In the Hebrew it is, "Lord, make plain thy way before me, because of my observers." Malicious observation is a sign of enmity; and therefore when men shall diligently observe and lay wait for the haltings of God's people, and are glad to find any thing to raise a scandal; more rejoicing at the scandal, than grieving for the sin; those, as beasts which seek for the excrements of men to nuzzle in them, are God's enemies, and God is their's.*

Those that hinder the great proceedings that God hath in the world, are his enemies. In the restoration and rebuilding of the temple, God had many enemies: Tobiah, Sanballat, and many others. Neh. vi. 1. How did it appear? They did out of malice labour to make the work of God to cease. So when men in their generations and times shall maliciously labour to cause the works of God to cease, and hinder the great proceedings which God hath on foot in the world; these are enemies and none but enemies. Now God is and hath been working of many great works in the world; if any man's heart tell him that he hath thus taken up arms against God, let him lay down his weapons and humble himself, for God will be above him; God is greater and will break him.

The second part of the doctrine followeth: that these enemies when God ariseth are scattered: God's arising is the cause of their scattering.

When God ariseth, then all his host ariseth. When a man ariseth, then all his clothes arise; when the subject

* Qui tanquam famelici porci immergunt se, in stercora sanctorum et ex jis delicias faciunt.-Luther in Gen. ix.

ariseth, all the accidents arise; when the prince in the field ariseth, all his soldiers arise: when God ariseth, then all his followers arise; and when they arise, the enemies fly, and so are scattered.

Consider but the nature of his enemies as they are described in Scripture. They are compared to wax before the fire. Ps. lxviii. 2. Though wax may lie awhile there and not melt, whilst the fire is not blown up; yet when the fire flameth, the wax melteth. They are compared to the waves of the sea, Jude xiii.; that roar whilst they are in the sea, yet when they come to the shore they break. They are compared to smoke, Psalm lxviii. 2; which though it rise like a dark cloud, yet is soon scattered and consumed by the puff of the wind. They are compared to vapours, mists and clouds, Hos. xii. 3; which though they may seem to threaten the earth with some great storm, yet when the sun ariseth in its full heat then are they scattered. Such wax, such waves, such smoke, such vapours and mists are the Lord's enemies; soon therefore scattered when he ariseth.

But though it may be easy, in regard of God's power, to scatter the enemies of the churches; yet when we look upon the condition of the churches as they are in themselves, their deliverance is very difficult. It is an unlikely thing that the distressed churches should be delivered, as the matter now standeth with them; when were the enemies of the church more prevailing than now they are?

So it must be. What is more unlikely than that a dead man, who lieth upon the grave's mouth, should be raised up to life, and to such life as to ascend and go up to heaven. Yet such is the deliverance of the church when it cometh. Rev. xi. 12. It was a very unlikely thing that Judah should ever come out of Babylon; the Jews did despair of it: and therefore as a man that thinketh he shall never return the way that he goeth, taketh no heed to his way, observeth not by what turnings, windings and marks he cometh, so were they in their journey and way to Babylon; wherefore saith Jeremiah, xxxi. 21, 22, "Set thee up waymarks, make thee high heaps, set thine heart towards the highway, even the way which thou wentest: turn thee again, O virgin of Israel, turn again to these cities, &c., for the Lord hath created a new thing in the earth; a woman shall compass a strong man.' As if he should say thus: You think yourselves in a very

weak and low condition, the enemy strong, and you in their hands; well, but the time shall come that a woman shall lay siege to a strong man: Fæmina virum fortem angustiabit, Psalm i. 18; for that word read, to compass, in the Hebrew signifieth also, to compass by way of siege; and that word read, man, in your translation, signifieth a strong man: and the sense of all is, that those which are as weak as women shall beset, encompass, and beleaguer those that are strong and valiant men. But we see no likelihood, might they say, of this. No, it may be so, but saith God, "I will do a new thing." But there is no means. It mattereth not," I will create a new thing:" I, that drew once the world out of nothing, will draw the deliverance of the churches also out of nothing: I will be a creating God to the churches though they be never so low. Was it not an unlikely thing for Peter to be delivered that very night when he was to die the next day. Acts xii. 5, 6. He was in close prison, he was fast in chains, he was there kept with soldiers, he had rough keepers to keep the prison doors, he had to go through the first and second watch, and he was to pass the iron gate that leadeth into the city; yet prayer conveyed him through all these parties of opposition. The church prayeth and Peter cometh, but what is this to us? We may not expect miracles now. Yes, we, even we are commanded "to commit our souls into the hands God in well doing as unto a faithful Creator," 1 Peter iv. 19. Not as unto a Redeemer only, but of a Creator, who hath promised his creating strength to supply us in our distresses, and therefore saith, "into theh ands of a faithful Creator." Well, then, though the afflictions of the churches be never so great, let us not mourn as those that are without hope, for God can do it with ease and much facility. He is our Creator, he will do it in truth and in much faithfulness, for he is our faithful Creator, into whose hands we are to commit ourselves and the condition of all the churches.

Again, When God ariseth, then God appeareth. Now the enemies of God cannot endure the sight of God. When John the beloved disciple of Christ, who had the honour to be trusted with the book of the Revelation, saw but one angel, Rev. xxii. 8, he fell down and trembled. John was a good man, he had not a guilty conscience; yet when an angel did but appear John falleth down. How shall men tremble when the great God shall appear, and they shall appear before