Yea, the Lord hath saved us, he hath saved us with a notwithstanding: as great and large a notwithstanding as ever people and nation were saved with. Witness the mercy, and 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. 66 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 | unbelief, and that therefore they fell, and died in the wilderness: they had sinned greatly in unbelief on the other side the water, before they came through the Red Sea, but God pardoned that: but when the Lord had brought them through the Red Sea, and they had seen God saving them with a notwithstanding, and then fell into that unbelief, they died for it: their unbelief on this side the water, was at a dearer rate than on the other, And so it will be with us; many and great were our sins which we committed before the Lord saved us; and if yet we will go on, and will not repent of them; now they will cost us dear. The Lord hath saved us with a notwithstanding: oh, what a mighty engagement is this upon us all to leave those sins, notwithstanding which the Lord hath saved us? If the Lord hath saved us with a notwithstanding, out of free love; then let us all walk humbly after all our deliverances, victories, salvations. Be it known unto thee, O Israel, saith the Lord," that not for thy righteousness, not for thy uprightness, but for mine own name's sake have I done all this." So may I say to England: O England, the Lord hath done great things for thee formerly, and of late; yet, be it known unto thee, that not for thy righteousness, nor thine uprightness, but for his own name's sake hath he done it. Why should any of us then be proud, and not walk humbly under all? "My soul (says Mary) doth magnify the Lord, &c., for he that is mighty hath magnified me:" so your old service book; but it is, according to the original* " Hath done great things for me." She doth not`say, as Austin observes, Fecit in me, or fecit per me, but fecit mihi he hath done great things, not in me, nor by me, but to me and for me, holy and reverend is his name; as for me, I am not so much an agent, as a poor patient. So may we say, The Lord hath done great things for us, nor in us, not by us, but for us and to us for his own name's sake. Oh, therefore let us all walk humbly with our God. If the Lord hath saved us with a notwithstanding: then why should not we love one another with a notwithstanding ? You say, I could love such, or such a man, but that he is of this opinion: I confess he is godly, but not of my judgment, nor of my opinion, this or that failing, or oddness of carriage * Ότι εποίησε μοι μεγαλεια ο δυνατος. he hath.* But did God love me with a notwithstanding all my sin; and shall not I love his children with a notwithstanding all their failings? ye know the parable: when the Lord forgave his servant frankly and freely, what he expected that the servant should do to his fellow servant: and because he did not, his Lord "was wroth with him." This is an everlasting rule; that when Christ loves us, he expects that we should love his, as he hath loved us. And therefore says he," A new commandment give I unto you, that ye love one another, even as I have loved you." Now he hath loved as freely, notwithstanding all our failings and sins; all our oddnesses and weaknesses: awake, awake, oh love of the aints, awake. Some think the best way to unite hearts in these dividing times, is to make all things common, according to that verse, Si duo de nostris tollas prænomina rebus prolia cessarent, pax sine lite foret. Take but two pronouns, that is, meum and tuum, out of our matters, and wars will cease, and there will be peace without strife. But the statute of meum and tuum was made in heaven, and it is engraven in our nature. "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his man-servant, nor his maid-servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is his." This his is part of the moral law, and so in our nature. Indeed, we read that when Cain, a wicked man, came to sacrifice, that it is said," he brought an offering of the field," in common. But when godly Abel brought a sacrifice, it is said, "he brought a firstling of his sheep ;" the word of propriety being written upon his sacrifice. And surely the way to unite hearts, is not to dissolve our nature; but if you would love one another, as this doctrine calls for at our hands, let me tell you, that the way to love, is to begin in faith. As in our love to God: love is the fruit of faith, faith is the root of love: I cannot love God if I do not trust him, nor can I ever love my neighbour if I do not trust him. Away, therefore, with all designings one upon another, and let us first profess simplicity and integrity. Though I can never help you as I would, yet I will never detain you; ye cannot love if ye do not trust first. And, therefore, let us so carry it towards one another, in all simplicity and godly gospel integrity, that we * Diversum sentire duos de rebus cisdem incolumi licuit semper amicitia. 66 you may confide in each other. And if would love one another much, do not expect too much from any; man is but man: Verily every man in his best estate," and therefore though he be godly, "is altogether vanity." There is somewhat of the worst in the best, In optimo semper aliquid pessimi. Every man must have his allowance, he hath his failings. Whenever you look upon another man's infirmities, think of his other excellencies. As when you look upon your own excellency, think withal upon your other infirmity: so when you look on another man's infirmity, think withal on his other excellency. If we expect too much we are disappointed, and disappointment doth breed vexation and displeasure: if we expect little and find much, it breeds love; if we expect much and find little, it breaks love. Again, If you would have the returns of love upon your heart, walk and be together, you that are godly. Strangeness is the next door to enmity. Strangeness doth breed suspicion, and suspicion doth breed enmity. There are some things wherein we are all agreed, let us walk together in the practice of them.* It is a vain thing for men to run up and down to get work, when much lies unmade upon their shop-boards. Now there is much on our board yet not made up, let us all work to make up that which lies on our board for the present, and by that time it is made up, through God's grace we shall be agreed in the rest. And in the mean time let every man keep his place. A learned man being asked what the reason was of the dissensions of those times wherein he lived, said, Because men do not keep their places; all men were out of their places. I wish I might not say so too. We are out of our places; and what peace or love while men are out of their * Nunciatum est mihi de vobis fratres ab aliquibus, qui in vestra congregatione sum et ad nos inde venerunt, quod de hac re dissentiones in vobis sunt, itaque dilectissimi ne vos perturbet hujus quæstionis obscuritas, moneo vos primum ut de his quæ intelligitis agatis Deo gratias; quicquid est autem quo pervenire nondum potest vestræ mentis intentio, pacem inter vos et charitatem servantes a domino ut intelligatis orate, et donec res ipsa perducat ad ea quæ nondum intelligitis ibi ambulate quo pervenire potuistis. Hæc etiam admonet apostolus Paulus, qui cum dixisset se nondum perfectum esse, paulo post ait, quotquot ergo perfecti sumus hoc sapiamus et si quid aliter sapitis hoc quoque Deus revelabit, verum tamen in quod pervenimus in eo ambulamus, Phil. iii. 15, 16.—Augustin. vide Cassandri tractat. de pii viri officio circa religionis desidium. Unde tot in rebus humanis turbæ, nisi quod fere omnes eam quam Deus |