Alexander Henderson’s Sermons

a/src/0020.pm b/src/0020.pm index 15b0139..1b20b9b 100644 --- a/src/0020.pm +++ b/src/0020.pm @@ -1,12 +1,10 @@ #lang pollenIt is by faith that any good work is begun to,begun, and it is faith principally that carries us forward in the doing of it against all difficulties that we can rancounter withencounter in the way in the doing of it; and it is faith also that must bring the work to a comfortable conclusion; and it is by faith that we must be possessed in things promised by God, which promises are apprehended by faith, and so hoped for. YeYou heard before (so many as were here), that it was by faith the people of God went through the Red Sea, and the Egyptians [were]were drowned in it. And the truth is, albeit it be not set down here, yet it was by faith they came to the wilderness, and all things were furnished to them there in a barren desert, and that miraculously only, of the great care and extraordinary @@ -20,10 +18,10 @@ for them to have won through the sea as they did, and then come so far on: and now, when they are into the land, it is also impossible for them to possess themselves there, and to overcome such strong cities as were there, which they were informed of a little before, by the spies that were sent to see the land. Now what should they do in this case? In ◊ref{Josh.5}, it is said, Joshua and the people, they see a strong city there, and strong walls about it; and there were not such engines of war then to batter down walls as are used sensyne (since then);since then; and no question albeit there were believers among them, who believed the general promise that they should be possessed into that land, yet in that particular they were troubled, how they should get that strong town overcome. At this time there appeared to Joshua a man over against him, with his sword @@ -32,31 +30,31 @@ for then he knew not who it was. And he said, "Nay, but as captain of the host of the Lord am I now come." Then Joshua knew that it was Jesus Christ, and fell on his face and worshipped, and said, "What sayeth my Lord to his servant?" He says, "Be not feared for this Jericho, for I have given it into thy hand;" and whereas he would have asked next, "How shall that be?" he says, "Ye"You shall do no more but this, go march about the city, as I direct you; the armed men of you, let them go in the front, and next unto them seven priests with seven trumpets, and these not the silver trumpets, but trumpets of rams' horns; and after them let the ark of the Lord follow, and then all the rest in the rear: and this yeyou shall do seven days. Six of them yeyou shall go about but once each day; but the seventh day yeyou shall compass it seven times, and at the seventh time the priests shall blow their trumpets. Then all the people shall give a great shout and the walls shall fall flat to the ground." Now Joshua, he hears this spoken, and he knows that it is the Lord who speaks it, and therefore he believes it, and he tells the priests to tell it to the people, and he tells it out to them so far as his voice could extend: and God puts it in their hearts to believe the promise, and they marchmarched on and obeyed the direction; and so through their faith and obedience the success follows answerable to the promise, and they take in the city.

That yeyou may take up the purpose the better, consider of it in these four particulars. 1. The great strength that stood up against the people of God here, under the name of the "walls of Jericho." 2. The special and principal strength that God's people opposed against these strong walls,---walls, "Faith." 3. The weak means that the people used for casting down the walls. If they had been bidden fight, they would have done it; but the Lord would not have them to fight now, albeit they were made to fight afterwards,---nowafterwards---now they must use the weak means that the Lord had appointed, and that was, Toto compass the walls seven days, and as it is in ◊ref{Josh.6} each day of six they compassed it but once, and the seventh day seven times. 4. There is the happy and victorious success of the people of God against their enemies. He makes the walls to fall, and they fall so as if there had been no wall there at all, even flat to the @@ -67,7 +65,7 @@ and the seventh time of that day, we would undoubtedly get the victory because of the truth of God's promise, who has promised that his people shall rule over their enemies.

I. "The walls of Jericho." The people, they behovedbehooved to make fordwardforward against these walls for as strong as they were, for they were now come out of Egypt, and they had broken the yoke of their servitude there; they were come through the Red Sea, and were baptized there, as the apostle calls it; they were come @@ -85,45 +83,45 @@ Sea, then they must go back again to Egypt: and going back to Egypt, they go back to their former slavery, and I may say to a worse slavery than ever they had been in before, yea in great hazard of losing themselves and all that they had, and of all that came after them. And therefore they resolve this, that there is no returning for them, but they will fordwardforward into the way, and will set against this city, for as strong as the walls of it were, yea suppose every stone in the wall were a man, yet they will to it. Beloved, when we are once entered into a good course, we must not return again; for if we return again, it will be very hard with us. In the matter of the redemption of our own souls, is it not great folly for us, when we have once shaken off the yoke and bondage of sin, and hashave begun to go on in the right way, that then we shall begin to return, because we see some great mountain to be in the way? If we return, then our bondage shall be seven times multiplied upon us; and it had been better for us never to have known the way of righteousness, than having once known it and entered in it, to turn back again. And viewing the case of the kirk of Scotland presently, we may say this of it, Whenwhen we have begun, by the mercy and power of God, to shake off the yoke which was.was lying upon us, which fourteen taskmasters◊footnote{The fourteen Bishops} did hold fast on, when we, I say, are begun to cast off that yoke, and gave testimony before the world that we have hated them and their fashions, and the Lord has brought us that far on as to renew our Covenantcovenant with him, if now we begin to sound a retreat again, then of necessity we must go back to Egypt; and if we go back, then the yoke shall be so fast wreathed upon our necks, that it shall not be gotten so well off them again, and our servitude and slavery shall be greater than it was before. Always, in our consciences, in our bodies, in our means, our liberties, and our posterity also, our bondage then shall be seven times greater than it was before. And therefore, it were best for us to resolve to go fordward,forward, as we would wish either happiness to ourselves or to our posterity after us.

Now for the strength of these walls, it was great, as it is ◊ref{Deut.1.28}; and by (overover and above)above their strength, they are of a great height also, for yeyou know the spies that were sent to spy the land said that the walls of the cities reached to the very heavens, so that it was not able for any to win them: so they were both strong and high. And then yeyou may not think that the city was waste; no, for there were men into it, and that of the sons of Anak, who were great tall men. And yeyou may not think, neither, that they were, as they use the proverb, "mickledom without virtue,"◊footnote{i.e., men of great strength of body but deficient in courage.} for they were strong men also; and especially the strongest men would be here, in the frontiers of the country; and the text says that they were men of valour.valor. And then they were expertexperts in war; for the little kings there agreed not well together, and that made the men to be expert,experts, each one of them to defend themselves from another. YeYou may think they had all these, but had no wit to guide them? YeYou may not think that neither, for they had civil policy among them, they had a king; and when they saw the enemy approaching, they sit down to a council of war, to consult what they should do to hold off the enemy; and they think it enough to hold the ports fast. And so @@ -131,10 +129,10 @@ they thought, if Joshua and these who were with him would not flee at first, they would force them to it by holding them out. This was one great strength.

But there was another strength there greater than all their walls and gates,---evengates---even the gates of hell were there to hold out the peopleofpeople of God. The powerofpower of the devil was there; they had strong and mighty once,ones, principalities and powers, to defend them, for they worshipped devils. And I may lawfully say they did so, for the Scripture says it,---thatit---that all worship of heathens or Papists, even whatsoever is not done according to God's word, that it is done to the devil; for whatever is not from the good Spirit of God, it is from the evil spirit of the devil. And seeing that the devils were worshipped there, @@ -144,7 +142,7 @@ people. The third strength that was to hold them out was greatest of all: there were divers persons in the camp of Israel whose hearts now did altogether faint. Many of them, when they heard the spies first, murmured, and would fain have been back, for they had unbelief ringing (reigning) intoreigning in their hearts, and would have been glad of any refuge at all, for fear the enemy had come out upon them, not believing the truth and the promise of God. And as there were unbelievers among them, so I may say there was not a heart among them, Joshua's @@ -162,13 +160,13 @@ the kirk and the children of God. 2. There is against her all principalities and powers, even all that the devil can devise. 3. There are some also among God's people with whom infirmity prevails altogether, who, for worldly respects, will join in profession and in a confession with the people of God, but when trouble comes, withdrawswithdraw again.◊footnote{Perhaps the allusion here is to some few among the nobility, such as Cassilis and Rae, who were supposed at this time to have deserted the covenanting interest.} And, indeed, these are the worst sort of enemies the kirk has; and every one of us carries about with us a great measure of unbelief mixed with our faith. What should we do then? Now I would not have you to think that I am telling you of all this to discourage you from going on into a good course when yeyou are into it, but only to let you see that we have great need of the power of God, when we are begun into a good course, and to let us see, if the Lord but leave us to ourselves for a little, then we will be nothing else but a prey to our enemies both @@ -177,11 +175,11 @@ an enemy great enough to hinder any good work. And these enemies that I would have you now to take heed to are spiritual enemies. There is no nation or kirk but they have spiritual enemies, evermore some who is ready to hinder a good work from being done, or when it is done to undo it: when there is a reformation working into a kirk they labourlabor all that they can to hinder it, and when it is wrought, to deface it again. Beloved, every carnal heart is a spiritual Jericho; for when the Lord comes, he besieges that heart, he displays his colourscolors of red and white, war and peace, and he lays out also his black colourscolors of death, to make that heart to yield. What does the carnal man do then? He says, I will not yield for all that, I will not be moved, for I have strong walls to hold out all these. Unbelief still says, "I shall have peace, though I walk in the imaginations of my own heart;" that is, Let the Lord do what he @@ -193,40 +191,39 @@ burning, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. And if there be such opposition into one soul, what opposition must there be in many souls; and when there is such opposition against the reformation of one heart, what must there be when there is a reformation of Religion intended? It is no wonder indeed that it comes not with speed, but is hindered very far; but the wonder is that it comes with any speed at all; and it is the greatest wonder that ever we heard tell of, that such a good work sheuldshould have gone so far on here in so short a time. They are very ignorant who knows not that it is evermore the malice of enemies to oppose any good work when it is begun, and to hinder it so far as they can.

II. "Faith." ThisisThis is the strength that they must oppose against these strong high walls. There are two things to be considered here. 1. The persons who had this faith. 2. How their faithwasfaith was a strength to overcome these mighty walls.

◊it{First}, The persons who had this faith. It was not Joshuahis alone. There are many notable persons marked before in this cloud of witnesses for their singular faith which they themselves had, and there were notable things

done by them through faith; but now in these last two examples, it is not the faith of one singular man that is marked, but of many. YeYou heard that when the Red Sea was divided it was not Moses' faith alone that did it, but the whole people; and now he says, "By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days." Now, by whom was it that they were compassed? Not by Joshua alone, but by the people of God; and therefore, it was by their faith the walls fell. Beloved, (asas I said before),before, I may say there were divers among these people who had no faith at all, and there was unbelief in the hearts of the best of them; and yet, for all that, yeyou see there is no mention made of the unbelievers, nor yet of the mixture that was in these who had faith: and so yeyou see that faith prevails so over unbelief, that there is no mention at all made of it. What was the reason of this? Because the faith which they had was true and unfeigned, although it was not perfyte;perfect; and that makes all the rest to be passed by, and not to be considered. There be some who objects, Whereforeobject, wherefore serves the renewing of a Confessionconfession of faith, seeing there be some who are ignorant, profane, and wicked persons in it,◊footnote{The utmost care was taken by the leaders of the Covenanters that no unworthy person should be admitted to subscribe the covenant. In the end of their first answer to the replies of the doctors of Aberdeen,Messrs Henderson and Dickson say, amongstamong other things, "That others of no small note offered their subscriptions, and were refused, till time should try that they joined in sincerity from love to the cause, and not from the fear of men." Notwithstanding, however, of this vigilance and care, some had crept in @@ -244,11 +241,11 @@ Now concerning faith, look to a threefold work that it has. 1. In believing and apprehending anything to be true. By faith we believe that the world was made; we have no more warrant that the world was created, but that it was from eternity, but only from the word of God. 2. The second work of faith is doing. There is much action, yeyou see, ascribed to faith in this same chapter, in Enoch, Abraham, Moses, etc., and all these worthies who are put into this register. 3. The third work is suffering; for through faith they did suffer much for the truth, mockings,mocking, imprisonment, stoning, etc.: yea, all the ills that man could lay upon them, they did endure them all through faith. First, faith is shewnshown by believing and apprehending the truth of God's word; secondly, in action, by doing these things which it requires; thirdly, in suffering, when there is no place for them to do any thing for the truth, nor have they strength to do @@ -259,22 +256,22 @@ he has spoken, and he that sets not himself to do something according to that truth, and that both in prosperity and adversity, and, when he is put to suffering for the truth, will not undergo it also, they will be ready then to renounce their religion. And therefore, since that faith has a twofold working, both within and without, one seen and another unseen, godo notto say, "I have faith and believes,"believe," and yet in the meantime never labourslabor to walk according to thyyour faith, and when thou artyou are put to suffer anything for it, will not undergo that, and so submitssubmit not thyyour neck to the yoke of Christ.

This faith has this quality with it, that it is a secret, unseen, and invisible strength. Even such is the strength of God's people, it is secret, unseen, and invisible to the world; and this is [causes?]causes the world to be insolent against them, and yet in the meantime they are confident to be victorious through their strength. When God's people believe his promise, they have strength enough against all their enemies, albeit the enemies perceive it not.

◊it{Secondly}, Beloved,beloved, how is it that faith is strong enough against all these walls and powers? It seems that it is aan enchantment to make them fall down; for what strength was there in their faith to make the walls of Jericho to fall down? That yeyou may consider this purpose the better, consider of these things. 1. The people of God, they did believe his power, that he was strong enough. 2. Consider that the Lord gives them a promise that the walls of Jericho shall fall. 3. They believe this promise of God to be true. 4. And lastly, the Lord @@ -286,7 +283,7 @@ power. And therefore, we need not to stand for no impediments that can be in our way in doing a good work, for faith is strong enough against all; if we have a promise of God to be with us, he has power enough to perform it, and so whatsoever God has promised to us is easily done by his power, if we have faith to believe it; he will fulfilfulfill his promise to us in due time, if we will wait on till the appointed time.

Now, what comfort is this to us that "by faith the walls of Jericho fell;" for @@ -298,26 +295,26 @@ there is a special promise made to the kirk of God, that she shall never perish, but shall continue to all generations; that she shall never be moved, because she is builded on the rock hewn without hands. Secondly, there is another special promise made, that the true kirk of God shall prevail over the false kirk of Antichrist; and so yeyou know there is a threatening in the Revelation, that Babel, the mother of fornications,fornication, shall be destroyed. So then, albeit all the kings and princes in the earth should join and band themselves together against the true kirk of God, which is builded on the rock, they may well persecute her for a while, but they shall never extinguish her, nor put her clean out; yea indeed, by persecution the true kirk does rather increase nor decrease. If all the kings and princes in the earth should turn, (asas they wrongfully call them), Catholickthem, Catholic kings, and join all their powers and forces together for the holding up of Babel, yet, in despite of them all, it shall fall to the ground; and he who has begun to make Religionreligion to shine, shall in his appointed time make Babel to fall to the ground, and set up his own kirk: whatever be the power that the Lord choose for the doing of it, yet we are sure he will do it. God's people, whereeverwherever they are in every land, albeit they have not a particular for every one of them, yet they have a general promise particularly applied; and is not that also good? God has promised to his people, "I will never leave you, nor forsake you:"you" "I will be a sun and a shield to you?" and so labourlabor once to make this sure, that yeyou are the people of God, and that yeyou are labouringlaboring to live as it becomes his people to do, and then yeyou may say that all the promises made to the kirk of God, or to any within the kirk ever since the beginning, they belong to you. Therefore, as it is in ◊ref{1Sam.12.24}, "only fear the Lord, and serve him with all your hearts. For the Lord will not forsake his people for his great name's sake: because it hath pleased the Lord to make you his people." And, indeed. Israel had no greater @@ -326,29 +323,29 @@ fear the Lord, and serve him with our whole heart; and if he perform one promise for us, then all shall be performed.

III. Now with this secret strength there are means joined; and the means that are joined seemsseem to be very weak for that end. Only to compass the city about once each day of six, and on the seventh day seven times, and at the seventh time, the seventh day, the priests to blow their trumpets of rams' horns, and all the people to give a shout ---these seemsshout---these seem to be very weak means, yet it was that which God had ordained; and they give obedience to it. And indeed, obedience to the commandment of God is a great help to get a thing done well, and has great virtue with it. The means that the Lord chooses in themselves seemsseem to be very weak, and so were these also; but the Lord chooses them for good reasons. 1. To harden the hearts of the enemies. Their doings now seemed to them to be but ridiculous, for they thought now that they had only been but jesting them, to see them all marching in order about the walls, and never a word among them, nor never a preassing (endeavouring)endeavoring to stir them; but this is done that the enemies may never take the matter to heart, till their destruction come upon them. 2. These weak means were ordained also to try the faith of God's people, for he thought it meeter,more suitable, at their first entry in the land, to try their faith than their valour.valor. Might not the wise grave old men that were among them think, what a foolish thing is this, for us to go about the city thus? And then we must have trumpets with us, and not the silver trumpets, but base ones of rams' horns, and go in order, and not speak, and so oft, even thirteen times! All this was done to try their faith.

Certainly, beloved, in beating down the walls of spiritual Jericho and Babel, the Lordhe uses very weak means. What was that made the kingdom of Satan to fall as lightning in the beginning of the Christian religion? No great strength, but only the preaching of some few weak apostles. And in the beginning of the Reformation there were but few for religion, but now it has @@ -359,16 +356,16 @@ the truthfulness of Henderson's nature, and the acknowledged integrity of his character, we are safe in concluding, that if he had himself been a mean of organizing the commotions of the previous year, according to Guthrie, he would have avoided this and such like assertions.} And therefore consider of this when yeyou come to hear the word, and to receive the sacraments. ThouYou may think, "what needs me to go out of my own house for these things? I may get all at home that I see there." Yet consider that it is a compassing of the walls of spiritual Jericho, and a sounding of trumpets against it; and if thouyou will use these things in faith, and in obedience to the commandment of God, thouyou shall find the success thereof answerable to all that is spoken of them. What virtue was there in the water of Jordan more than in other water? Yet Naaman, he behovedbehooved to wash there, because it was the commandment of the Lord; and he was made clean by the power of God joined with it. And what virtue was there Inin a piece dead brass? (for so it is called,) yetYet when the people were stingedstung with serpents, they who looked to it were healed. Howsoever indeed, this is not to spoil the word and the sacraments, that they can do nothing, yet there is no power of regeneration in them but when they are done in faith, and in obedience @@ -378,13 +375,13 @@ accompany them, then they will be effectual.◊footnote{"The sacraments become effectual means of salvation, not from any virtue in them, or in him that doth administer them; but only by the blessing of Christ, and the working of his Spirit in them that by faith receive them." Shorter Catechism. The similarity between the thought and language in the Sermonsermon and in the Catechism is observable.} And therefore, albeit the means of themselves seem to be weak, yet come to the using of them in obedience and in faith, and thouyou will find the success thereof to be answerable to all that is spoken of them; providing that thouyou go about as long as God has directed thee. These people might have thought, we have gone about once, and there is not one stone fallen yet; yea, when they had gone about six days, there was not a stone fallen nor loused;loosed; yea, when they went about the sixth time the seventh day, all was as at the beginning: and the reason of it was, ◊it{because the appointed time was not yet come}. So when we are discouraged that we have been long using the means of @@ -394,128 +391,128 @@ them, no prevailing over them, but rather they have prevailed over us; yet for all that, let us still believe in faith, and use the means: and if we will do so constantly, let us then resolve that the time is coming when all these walls shall fall, and we shall get victory over all our enemies. There be two things to comfort a Christian soul in these onsets. ◊it{First}, that he that believes and rests upon the promise of God, and by that he knows that he shall come quickly, and shall not tarry; so he believes that the word of God is true which he has promised; and he believes that there isais a good time coming, when the promise shall be fulfilled. This upholds him in his straits. ◊it{Second}, which is a very strong one, even the testimony that he has within himself of his obedience, and that he is doing the will of God: that assures him of a victory over all his enemies. So long as thou hasyou have these two, thou needsyou need notto fear. So let us evermore believe the truth of God''sGod's word and of his promise, and then let us certify ourselves that he will come, and go on in obedience to his will against all enemies, and then we may be sure of victory over them. ◊it{Obj.}◊it{Objection} When some witnesses of the truth hashave opposed the enemies thereof, the enemies have grown greater, and the truth has been borne down more. ◊it{A.}◊it{Answer} The due time has not been then come, and God has done so for his further praise; but it shall not always be so. For albeit to thyyour sense all seem to be gone, yet because God has made a pactionpact with his people to deliver them, therefore they shall be delivered, and the enemies shall be altogether confounded, as these walls fell all at a rush; which was greater glory to God than if they had been thrown down stone and stone.

But was there no other strength nor no other means whereby these walls were overcome? Yes, there was more; for as yeyou heard out of ◊ref{Josh.5}, there is one who is prince and captain of the Lord's host, he is with them, and this is no other but Jesus Christ; and Joshua worships him, and calls him, Thethe Lord. He appeared to him in the likeness of a man; albeit he was not yet bodily incarnate, yet he took on this similitude now, to show what he was to be. So it is that same Lord whom they tempted so long in the wilderness; it was he who spakespoke to Moses out of the bush, and said, "I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob;" it was he who was with them at the Red Sea, and went in a cloud then betwixtbetween them and the Egyptians, and turned the dark side to them, and the light side to the Israelites. It was he who promised, ◊ref{Exod.23.27-Exod.23.30}, to drive out the people of the land before them, and now he is come to fulfilfulfill his promise, but he is not seen by them. But tlfeythey had a testimony of his presence always with them, which was a testimony of the presence of God in Clrist.Christ. In it was the tables of the law, which so often we do break; and there was above that a golden lid, and above it the two cherubs, which lid covered the law which the people did transgress. And God himself was presupponedpresupposed to sit betwixt the two cherubs; and so when the Lord looked down, as the cherubs did, he did not see the law which was broken, because of the lid that covered it: even so, when God's law is broken by us, he looks not to it, but looks to the propitiatory---that golden lid, Jesus Christ, who covers all our breaches of the law, and so he sees not the miquitiesiniquities of his people. And with that angels were also represented by the two cherubs, which made them to be a strong army---the people themselves, God and his angels being with them, which indeed was strength enough.

IV. The fourth and last point in the text is the success of this. "The walls of Jericho fell down;"down" "And it was so that they did fall flat to the ground." Now, walls may fall divers ways. 1. By their weakness, as not being strongly builded,built, or by wearing; and thus, albeit they were of brass or iron, with time they will fall. 2. By the ingyne (skill)skill of man, or by strength, or by the ambition of men, as the Temple of Diana, it was buildedbuilt by one in his ambition, to be one of the seven wonders of the world, and another in his ambition brunt it. 3. By the power of God directly; and there is none who can do it so easily as he can, either without means, or by very weak means. Babylon, it was great and stately, yet in what way confounded he the building of it? He did only change the sound of letters, which, yeyou know, is but a very small thing---the changing of a letter; he made them not dumb, but changed the sound, that they understood not others, and so the work was confounded. And here he employs but weak means, and yet the walls fallsfall flat to the ground: and so when the Lord applies his power to very weak means, of necessity the success must follow, according to his promise.

Let us observe here a word of three or four causes that made the walls to fall. The ◊it{first}, yeyou shall learn it out of ◊ref{Gen.15.16}. Their sin was now come to a height, their cup was now full; for yeyou know there it is said to Abraham, "The cup of the Amorites is not full;" and therefore Abraham and his seed behovedbehooved to be strangers four hundred and thirty years; but now their sin is at a height. From the very beginning their sins were crying for a vengeance from God, and each sin that they committed pykedpushed out a stone, and undermyndedundermined the walls, and so their own sins were their ruin. When all sort of sin grew common in all sorts and ranks of persons, and sin came to a height in all, and they did abound in atheism, idolatry, excess, filthiness, bloodshed, deceit, craft, malice, etc; when all sins were come to a perfection, then of necessity wrath behovedbehooved to come upon them. Happy are they, beloved, who keps (catches) upcatch their sins in time, and snibs (checks)check them at the beginning, that they come not to ripeness; that gives not their sins leave to fill the cup, but are daily skailing (spilling)spilling some of them by repentance; for when the cup is anceonce filled there is no more patience or sparing. The enemies of the kirk here were become insolent and proud, and their sin was come to a great height; and God's people were groaning and crying to him: and their sin being at such a height, and God's people groaning under the burden, of necessity their strong walls behovedbehooved to fall.

◊it{Secondly}, They had a strong confidence in their walls---they thought it impossible for any to take them in, or to get their walls overcome. For it seems they put their whole trust in their walls, for they used no means to hold off the enemy, but only to keep their ports fast; and yet, yeyou see, that same was the thing that beguiled them. And therefore,. we should look what it is that draws our hearts off God, for God will light upon that. If we trust in our wisdom, courage, strength, friends, etc., if any of these become an idol to thee,you, then God will ruin that to the very ground: thyyour wisdom shall be turned into foolishness, thyyour strength into weakness, thyyour friends into enemies. And therefore, we had great need to take heed to ourselves, that we lippentrust notover much in anything beside God; for, indeed, the most part lippenstrusts all to the means, but looks not to God. Indeed, we may use second means; but put no confidence in the means, as if they of themselves were able to do anything; otherwise ‘thou artyou are an enemy to God, and he will make that'tothat to disappoint theeyour wherein thou lippensyou trust most.

◊it{Thirdly}, God took the people's hearts who were within the town. For when the two spies went in to the house of Rahab the harlot, she told them that all the people's hearts were fainting, and their terroursterrors were fallen upon them; for they had heard how the Lord had dried up the Red Sea before them; how they had overcome the two kings of the Amorites. "When they heard of these things," she says, "their hearts did melt, and there remained no courage in them;" for they knew that God himself was fighting for them, who was God of heaven and earth. Beloved, God can strike men with other mighty terroursterrors than these, as he did Paul; but he can strike them with divine terroursterrors into their minds; especially this will be, when the enemies apprehendsapprehend that it is God's people they have to.doto do with, that it is his cause they are defending, and that they have found his providence for them also.

So when the enemies are forced to acknowledge that we are the people of God, and they are also forced to grant that it is the cause of God we have to defend, and that he has already wrought great things for us, then indeed there will be a divine terrourterror into the enemies' hearts, and their hearts will fall clean away. These people were so stricken with fear that it is said, "their hearts melted" like wax; and it seems that it was because of that they did close their ports.

◊it{Fourthly}, God had taken wit from them. Albeit that, (asas I said before),before, they had some order and policy among them, yet in this they were unwise; for their rulers, who had such good natural parts, when they saw the enemy approaching, they should have joined themselves together to resist the enemy; @@ -529,57 +526,57 @@ that there is any appearance of danger among us, let us band ourselves strongly together in a good cause. And not only is this lawful to be done, but it cannot stand with equity nor piety if we do it not; for all the people of God they are all members of one body; and seeing they are all members of one body, why may they not all join together for the defencedefense of their head and themselves? They are all sailing into one ship together through the stormy seas of this tempestuous world; and so when there is a leak struckenstruck up into the one end of the ship, shall the rest say, "I will not stir, because it is not come to me?" No, all should join togetherfor to mend it again, and so to hold out the water. We are all of us in one house, under one roof; and therefore when the fire is begun in the one end of the house, will you notthou rise to help to slockin (quench)quench it, because it is not come to thee yet◊footnote{ Theyou yet◊footnote{The same illustrations occur again. They seem to have been favouritefavorite ones with Henderson.} Certainly that is great madness, for it will come to theeyou next, if thouyou stay in the house, and the fire be not quenched. Can there be any safe when a leak is struckenstruck up into a ship, if it be not helped? willWill not all be bruntburnt who are in a house when fire enters into it, if so be that it be not slockined?put out? Now, are not all of us members of one body, in a ship, and in a house together? Indeed that we are; and certainly we do not the duty of Christians, nor stands itstand with piety and equity, except all of us stand for the defencedefense of Religion,religion, and every one of us of another, in a good cause.◊footnote{"We promise and swear, That we shall... stand... to the mutual defencedefense and assistance every one of us of another, in the same cause of maintaining the true religion, and his Majesty's authority, with our best counsel, our bodies, means, and whole power, against all sorts of persons whatsoever; so that whatsoever shall be done to the least of us for that cause, shall be taken as done to us all in general, and to every one of us in particular." ◊it{National Covenant}.}

And TI hear there be some who challengeschallenge this point in our Confession of faith,Faith, that people and subjects, all of them should join themselves together for the defencedefense of Religion,religion, and every one of them of another, in a good cause.◊footnote{No comment is here required by any who have the least acquaintance with the history of the time.} Beloved, certainly as that is as steadable (available)available a point as any that is in it, so it is as laudable a point as any that is in it. Some people may well object, and say, Ifif authority had interposed such a thing, then it were lawful and commendable; but seeing that it is done without authority, what warrant have they to join themselves thus together? I may say that this is anone of the main and principal causes why authority is opposite to this good and glorious work; for if all would join themselves together in this work, then the Lord would put it into the king's heart to take some good course for establishing of religion; but when there be many who will not join themselves, and authority is misinformed by them, what wonder is it that they apposeoppose it? And I may say also, what authority had Nehemiah to cause the people of Israel enter in a covenant with God? His warrant was only to build Jerusalem, but not for a covenant, and yet, yeyou see, he caused them to renew a covenant with God. Or what authority had Hezekiah or Josiah to meddle themselves with the people of the ten tribes, to bid them come to Jerusalem, to the Passover? Yet yeyou may see it plain in the history they did it. It were to be wished indeed that authority would join themselves to every good work, for it would make the heap greater; but for us to say that we will not join ourselves to religion, nor care what religion be in the land, except our magistrates bid us, that is a great madness. And therefore it is good for us to join to◊footnote{◊it{Join to}---An expression which means to engage in any employment.} the commandment of God, in faith and in obedience to it, and to join together for the defencedefense of religion: that so religion may continue among us in purity, and we may have peace and comfort in it, through Jesus Christ. To whom, etc.

a/src/0020.pm b/src/0020.pm index 0f15460..15b0139 100644 --- a/src/0020.pm +++ b/src/0020.pm @@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ It is by faith that any good work is begun to, and it is faith principally that carries us forward in the doing of it against all difficulties that we can rancounter with in the way in the doing of it; and it is faith also that must bring the work to a comfortable conclusion; and it is by faith that we must be possessed in things promised by God, whilkwhich promises are apprehended by faith, and so hoped for. Ye heard before (so many as were here), that it was by faith the people of God went through the Red Sea, and the Egyptians [were] drowned in it. And the truth is, albeit it be not set down here, yet it was by faith they @@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ build Jerusalem in the midst thereof for a habitation for the Lord of glory, as he had appointed. For if they had not had faith, it would have been impossible for them to have won through the sea as they did, and then come so far on: and now, when they are into the land, it is also impossible for them to possess themselves there, and to overcome such strong cities as were there, whilkwhich they were informed of a little before, by the spies that were sent to see the land. Now what should they do in this case? ◊ref{Josh.5}, it is said, Joshua and the people, they see a strong city there, and strong walls about it; and there were @@ -97,7 +97,7 @@ our bondage shall be seven times multiplied upon us; and it had been better for us never to have known the way of righteousness, than having once known it and entered in it, to turn back again. And viewing the case of the kirk of Scotland presently, we may say this of it, When we have begun, by the mercy and power of God, to shake off the yoke whilkwhich was. lying upon us, whilkwhich fourteen taskmasters◊footnote{The fourteen Bishops} did hold fast on, when we, I say, are begun to cast off that yoke, and gave testimony before the world that we have hated them and their fashions, and the Lord has brought us that far on as @@ -205,7 +205,7 @@ this faith. 2. How their faithwas a strength to overcome these mighty walls.

◊it{First}, The persons who had this faith. It was not Joshua his alone. There are many notable persons marked before in this cloud of witnesses for their singular faith whilkwhich they themselves had, and there were notable things

done by them through faith; but now in these last two examples, it is not the faith of one singular man that is marked, but of many. Ye heard that when the @@ -218,7 +218,7 @@ among these people who had no faith at all, and there was unbelief in the hearts of the best of them; and yet, for all that, ye see there is no mention made of the unbelievers, nor yet of the mixture that was in these who had faith: and so ye see that faith prevails so over unbelief, that there is no mention at all made of it. What was the reason of this? Because the faith whilkwhich they had was true and unfeigned, although it was not perfyte; and that makes all the rest to be passed by, and not to be considered. There be some who objects, Wherefore serves the renewing of a Confession of faith, seeing there @@ -250,7 +250,7 @@ The third work is suffering; for through faith they did suffer much for the truth, mockings, imprisonment, stoning, etc.: yea, all the ills that man could lay upon them, they did endure them all through faith. First, faith is shewn by believing and apprehending the truth of God's word; secondly, in action, by doing these things whilkwhich it requires; thirdly, in suffering, when there is no place for them to do any thing for the truth, nor have they strength to do anything, then they suffer for it; and will rather suffer all that can be laid upon them, before they endure the very smallest matter of religion to be @@ -301,7 +301,7 @@ another special promise made, that the true kirk of God shall prevail over the false kirk of Antichrist; and so ye know there is a threatening in the Revelation, that Babel, the mother of fornications, shall be destroyed. So then, albeit all the kings and princes in the earth should join and band themselves together against the true kirk of God, whilkwhich is builded on the rock, they may well persecute her for a while, but they shall never extinguish her, nor put her clean out; yea indeed, by persecution the true kirk does rather increase nor decrease. If all the kings and princes in the earth should turn, @@ -330,7 +330,7 @@ are joined seems to be very weak for that end. Only to compass the city about once each day of six, and on the seventh day seven times, and at the seventh time, the seventh day, the priests to blow their trumpets of rams' horns, and all the people to give a shout ---these seems to be very weak means, yet it was that whilkwhich God had ordained; and they give obedience to it. And indeed, obedience to the commandment of God is a great help to get a thing done well, and has great virtue with it. The means that the Lord chooses in themselves seems to be very weak, and so were these also; but the Lord chooses them for @@ -396,9 +396,9 @@ so constantly, let us then resolve that the time is coming when all these walls shall fall, and we shall get victory over all our enemies. There be two things to comfort a Christian soul in these onsets. ◊it{First}, that he believes and rests upon the promise of God, and by that he knows that he shall come quickly, and shall not tarry; so he believes that the word of God is true whilkwhich he has promised; and he believes that there isa good time coming, when the promise shall be fulfilled. This upholds him in his straits. ◊it{Second}, whilkwhich is a very strong one, even the testimony that he has within himself of his obedience, and that he is doing the will of God: that assures him of a victory over all his enemies. So long as thou has these two, thou needs not to fear. So @@ -427,18 +427,18 @@ went in a cloud then betwixt them and the Egyptians, and turned the dark side to them, and the light side to the Israelites. It was he who promised, ◊ref{Exod.23.27-Exod.23.30}, to drive out the people of the land before them, and now he is come to fulfil his promise, but he is not seen by them. But tlfey had a testimony of his presence always with them, whilkwhich was a testimony of the presence of God in Clrist. In it was the tables of the law, whilkwhich so often we do break; and there was above that a golden lid, and above it the two cherubs, whilkwhich lid covered the law whilkwhich the people did transgress. And God himself was presupponed to sit betwixt the two cherubs; and so when the Lord looked down, as the cherubs did, he did not see the law whilkwhich was broken, because of the lid that covered it: even so, when God's law is broken by us, he looks not to it, but looks to the propitiatory---that golden lid, Jesus Christ, who covers all our breaches of the law, and so he sees not the miquities of his people. And with that angels were also represented by the two cherubs, whilkwhich made them to be a strong army---the people themselves, God and his angels being with them, whilkwhich indeed was strength enough.

IV. The fourth and last point in the text is the success of this. "The walls of Jericho fell down;" "And it was so that they did fall flat to the ground." Now, @@ -450,7 +450,7 @@ to be one of the seven wonders of the world, and another in his ambition brunt it. 3. By the power of God directly; and there is none who can do it so easily as he can, either without means, or by very weak means. Babylon, it was great and stately, yet what way confounded he the building of it? He did only change the sound of letters, whilk,which, ye know, is but a very small thing---the changing of a letter; he made them not dumb, but changed the sound, that they understood not others, and so the work was confounded. And here he employs but weak means, and yet the walls falls flat to the ground: and so when the Lord applies his

a/src/0020.pm b/src/0020.pm index 698fb40..0f15460 100644 --- a/src/0020.pm +++ b/src/0020.pm @@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ and so hoped for. Ye heard before (so many as were here), that it was by faith the people of God went through the Red Sea, and the Egyptians [were] drowned in it. And the truth is, albeit it be not set down here, yet it was by faith they came to the wilderness, and all things were furnished to them there in a barren desert, and that miraculously only, of the great care and extraordinarextraordinary providence of God, both meat, drink, and clothes. It was by faith they overcame their enemies there, even these mighty kings of Bashan, etc. And it was by faith that they passed through Jordan miraculously; and now when they are into

a/src/0020.pm b/src/0020.pm index 84e3aa4..698fb40 100644 --- a/src/0020.pm +++ b/src/0020.pm @@ -244,7 +244,7 @@ Now concerning faith, look to a threefold work that it has. 1. In believing and apprehending anything to be true. By faith we believe that the world was made; we have no more warrant that the world was created, but that it was from eternity, but only from the word of God. 2. The second work of faith is doing. There is much action, ye see, ascribed to faith in this same cap.,chapter, in Enoch, Abraham, Moses, etc., and all these worthies who are put into this register. 3. The third work is suffering; for through faith they did suffer much for the truth, mockings, imprisonment, stoning, etc.: yea, all the ills that man could

a/src/0020.pm b/src/0020.pm index 5519ba3..84e3aa4 100644 --- a/src/0020.pm +++ b/src/0020.pm @@ -38,15 +38,15 @@ let them go in the front, and next unto them seven priests with seven trumpets, and these not the silver trumpets, but trumpets of rams' horns; and after them let the ark of the Lord follow, and then all the rest in the rear: and this ye shall do seven days. Six of them ye shall go about but once each day; but the seventh day ye shall compass it seven times, and at the seventh time the priests shall blow their trumpets. Then all the people shall give a great shout and the walls shall fall flat to the ground." Now Joshua, he hears this spoken, and he knows that it is the Lord who speaks it, and therefore he believes it, and he tells the priests to tell it to the people, and he tells it out to them so far as his voice could extend: and God puts it in their hearts to believe the promise, and they march on and obeyed the direction; and so through their faith and obedience the success follows answerable to the promise, and they take in the city.

That ye may take up the purpose the better, consider of it in these four particulars. 1. The great strength that stood up against the people of God @@ -86,33 +86,32 @@ back to their former slavery, and I may say to a worse slavery than ever they had been in before, yea in great hazard of losing themselves and all that they had, and of all that came after them. And therefore they resolve this, that there is no returning for them, but they will fordward into the way, and will set against this city, for as strong as the walls of it were, yea suppose every stone in the wall were a man, yet they will to it. Beloved, when we are once entered into a good course, we must not return again; for if we return again, it will be very hard with us. In the matter of the redemption of our own souls, is it not great folly for us, when we have once shaken off the yoke and bondage of sin, and has begun to go on in the right way, that then we shall begin to return, because we see some great mountain to be in the way? If we return, then our bondage shall be seven times multiplied upon us; and it had been better for us never to have known the way of righteousness, than having once known it and entered in it, to turn back again. And viewing the case of the kirk of Scotland presently, we may say this of it, When we have begun, by the mercy and power of God, to shake off the yoke whilk was. lying upon us, whilk fourteen taskmasters◊footnote{The fourteen Bishops} did hold fast on, when we, I say, are begun to cast off that yoke, and gave testimony before the world that we have hated them and their fashions, and the Lord has brought us that far on as to renew our Covenant with him, if now we begin to sound a retreat again, then of necessity we must go back to Egypt; and if we go back, then the yoke shall be so fast wreathed upon our necks, that it shall not be gotten so well off them again, and our servitude and slavery shall be greater than it was before. Always, in our consciences, in our bodies, in our means, our liberties, and our posterity also, our bondage then shall be seven times greater than it was before. And therefore, it were best for us to resolve to go fordward, as we would wish either happiness to ourselves or to our posterity after us.

Now for the strength of these walls, it was great, as it is ◊ref{Deut.1.28}; and by (over and above) their strength, they are of a great height also, for ye know the spies that were sent to spy the land said that the walls of the cities reached to the very heavens, so that it was not able for any to win them: so they were both strong and high. And then ye may not think that the city was @@ -186,23 +185,23 @@ colours of death, to make that heart to yield. What does the carnal man then? He says, I will not yield for all that, I will not be moved, for I have strong walls to hold out all these. Unbelief still says, "I shall have peace, though I walk in the imaginations of my own heart;" that is, Let the Lord do what he pleases, I shall find peace, and I will continue in my own ways, and yet I shall find peace. Yet, when the Lord sends his last trumpet to sound, and the dead shall rise, then all these walls, they shall fall flat to the ground, if it be not before then; and then the opposer shall be cast in everlasting burning, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. And if there be such opposition into one soul, what opposition must there be in many souls; and when there is such opposition against the reformation of one heart, what must there be when there is a reformation of Religion intended? It is no wonder indeed that it comes not speed, but is hindered very far; but the wonder is that it comes any speed at all; and it is the greatest wonder that ever we heard tell of, that such a good work sheuld have gone so far on here in so short a time. They are very ignorant who knows not that it is evermore the malice of enemies to oppose any good work when it is begun, and to hinder it so far as they can.

II. "Faith." Thisis the strength that they must oppose against these strong high walls. There are two things to be considered here. 1. The persons who had this faith. 2. How their faithwas a strength to overcome these mighty walls.

◊it{First}, The persons who had this faith. It was not Joshua his alone. There are many notable persons marked before in this cloud of witnesses for their @@ -215,30 +214,31 @@ people; and now he says, "By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days." Now, by whom was it that they were compassed? Not by Joshua alone, but by the people of God; and therefore, it was by their faith the walls fell. Beloved, (as I said before), I may say there were divers among these people who had no faith at all, and there was unbelief in the hearts of the best of them; and yet, for all that, ye see there is no mention made of the unbelievers, nor yet of the mixture that was in these who had faith: and so ye see that faith prevails so over unbelief, that there is no mention at all made of it. What was the reason of this? Because the faith whilk they had was true and unfeigned, although it was not perfyte; and that makes all the rest to be passed by, and not to be considered. There be some who objects, Wherefore serves the renewing of a Confession of faith, seeing there be some who are ignorant, profane, and wicked persons in it,◊footnote{The utmost care was taken by the leaders of the Covenanters that no unworthy person should be admitted to subscribe the covenant. In the end of their first answer to the replies of the doctors of Aberdeen, Messrs Henderson and Dickson say, amongst other things, "That others of no small note offered their subscriptions, and were refused, till time should try that they joined in sincerity from love to the cause, and not from the fear of men." Notwithstanding, however, of this vigilance and care, some had crept in unawares who were a discredit to the cause.} who may be ready to bring the curse of God upon others? Albeit it be so, yet we must not leave off for all that; and albeit there be many ignorant and unbelieving creatures, and wicked also, joined to it, and the best has great ills, yet that is not looked to; but if there be any sincere or upright work in any, that is looked to by God, and commended. And indeed, this is a great cause of rejoicing to the people and servants of God, that neither the infidelity that is altogether in some, nor yet the mixture of faith and infidelity that is in the best, shall prevail, but faith shall prevail above them all.

Now concerning faith, look to a threefold work that it has. 1. In believing and apprehending anything to be true. By faith we believe that the world was made; @@ -294,36 +294,36 @@ they had a particular promise for this? It's true indeed that where God has made a special and particular promise, we are bound to believe; but without that, it's presumption; or if we had the faith of miracles, then we might remove mountains; but where none of these are, what better can we be? Beloved, there is a special promise made to the kirk of God, that she shall never perish, but shall continue to all generations; that she shall never be moved, because she is builded on the rock hewn without hands. Secondly, there is another special promise made, that the true kirk of God shall prevail over the false kirk of Antichrist; and so ye know there is a threatening in the Revelation, that Babel, the mother of fornications, shall be destroyed. So then, albeit all the kings and princes in the earth should join and band themselves together against the true kirk of God, whilk is builded on the rock, they may well persecute her for a while, but they shall never extinguish her, nor put her clean out; yea indeed, by persecution the true kirk does rather increase nor decrease. If all the kings and princes in the earth should turn, (as they wrongfully call them), Catholick kings, and join all their powers and forces together for the holding up of Babel, yet, in despite of them all, it shall fall to the ground; and he who has begun to make Religion to shine, shall in his appointed time make Babel to fall to the ground, and set up his own kirk: whatever be the power that the Lord choose for the doing of it, yet we are sure he will do it. God's people, whereever they are in every land, albeit they have not a particular for every one of them, yet they have a general promise particularly applied; and is not that also good? God has promised to his people, "I will never leave you, nor forsake you:" "I will be a sun and a shield to you?" and so labour once to make this sure, that ye are the people of God, and that ye are labouring to live as it becomes his people to do, and then ye may say that all the promises made to the kirk of God, or to any within the kirk ever since the beginning, they belong to you. Therefore, as it is ◊ref{1Sam.12.24}, "only fear the Lord, and serve him with all your hearts. For the Lord will not forsake his people for his great name's sake: because it hath pleased the Lord to make you his people." And, indeed. Israel had no greater assurance to have the promises fulfilled to them than we have, if so be we will fear the Lord, and serve him with our whole heart; and if he perform one promise for us, then all shall be performed.

III. Now with this secret strength there are means joined; and the means that are joined seems to be very weak for that end. Only to compass the city about @@ -337,8 +337,8 @@ seems to be very weak, and so were these also; but the Lord chooses them for good reasons. 1. To harden the hearts of the enemies. Their doings now seemed to them to be but ridiculous, for they thought now that they had only been but jesting them, to see them all marching in order about the walls, and never a word among them, nor never a preassing (endeavouring) to stir them; but this is done that the enemies may never take the matter to heart, till their destruction come upon them. 2. These weak means were ordained also to try the faith of God's people, for he thought it meeter, at their first entry in the land, to try their faith than their valour. Might not the wise grave old men @@ -360,8 +360,8 @@ character, we are safe in concluding, that if he had himself been a mean of organizing the commotions of the previous year, according to Guthrie, he would have avoided this and such like assertions.} And therefore consider of this when ye come to hear the word, and to receive the sacraments. Thou may think, "what needs me to go out of my own house for these things? I may get all at home that I see there." Yet consider that it is a compassing of the walls of spiritual Jericho, and a sounding of trumpets against it; and if thou will use these things in faith, and in obedience to the commandment of God, thou shall find the success thereof answerable to all that is spoken of them. What virtue @@ -382,37 +382,37 @@ between the thought and language in the Sermon and in the Catechism is observable.} And therefore, albeit the means of themselves seem to be weak, yet come to the using of them in obedience and in faith, and thou will find the success thereof to be answerable to all that is spoken of them; providing that thou go about as long as God has directed thee. These people might have thought, we have gone about once, and there is not one stone fallen yet; yea, when they had gone about six days, there was not a stone fallen nor loused; yea, when they went about the sixth time the seventh day, all was as at the beginning: and the reason of it was, ◊it{because the appointed time was not yet come}. So when we are discouraged that we have been long using the means of grace, and we see not a stone of our spiritual corruptions falling to the ground more than at the first day, but they stand; and when we have opposed them, no prevailing over them, but rather they have prevailed over us; yet for all that, let us still believe in faith, and use the means: and if we will do so constantly, let us then resolve that the time is coming when all these walls shall fall, and we shall get victory over all our enemies. There be two things to comfort a Christian soul in these onsets. ◊it{First}, that he believes and rests upon the promise of God, and by that he knows that he shall come quickly, and shall not tarry; so he believes that the word of God is true whilk he has promised; and he believes that there isa good time coming, when the promise shall be fulfilled. This upholds him in his straits. ◊it{Second}, whilk is a very strong one, even the testimony that he has within himself of his obedience, and that he is doing the will of God: that assures him of a victory over all his enemies. So long as thou has these two, thou needs not to fear. So let us evermore believe the truth of God''s word and of his promise, and then let us certify ourselves that he will come, and go on in obedience to his will against all enemies, and then we may be sure of victory over them. ◊it{Obj.} When some witnesses of the truth has opposed the enemies thereof, the enemies have grown greater, and the truth has been borne down more. ◊it{A.} The due time has not been then come, and God has done so for his further praise; but it shall not always be so. For albeit to thy sense all seem to be gone, yet because God has made a paction with his people to deliver them, therefore they shall be delivered, and the enemies shall be altogether confounded, as these walls fell all at a rush; which was greater glory to God than if they had been thrown down stone and stone.

But was there no other strength nor no other means whereby these walls were overcome? Yes, there was more; for as ye heard out of ◊ref{Josh.5}, there is @@ -458,19 +458,19 @@ power to very weak means, of necessity the success must follow, according to his promise.

Let us observe here a word of three or four causes that made the walls to fall. The ◊it{first}, ye shall learn it out of ◊ref{Gen.15.16}. Their sin was now come to a height, their cup was now full; for ye know there it is said to Abraham, "The cup of the Amorites is not full;" and therefore Abraham and his seed behoved to be strangers four hundred and thirty years; but now their sin is at a height. From the very beginning their sins were crying for a vengeance from God, and each sin that they committed pyked out a stone, and undermynded the walls, and so their own sins were their ruin. When all sort of sin grew common in all sorts and ranks of persons, and sin came to a height in all, and they did abound in atheism, idolatry, excess, filthiness, bloodshed, deceit, craft, malice, etc; when all sins were come to a perfection, then of necessity wrath behoved to come upon them. Happy are they, beloved, who keps (catches) up their sins in time, and snibs (checks) them at the beginning, that they come not to ripeness; that gives not their sins leave to fill the cup, but are daily skailing (spilling) some of them by repentance; for when the cup is ance filled there is no more patience or sparing. The enemies of the kirk here were become insolent and proud, and their sin was come to a great height; and God's people

a/src/0020.pm b/src/0020.pm index 5fcbd2b..5519ba3 100644 --- a/src/0020.pm +++ b/src/0020.pm @@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ the promised land, it is by faith that they must be possessed into it, and build Jerusalem in the midst thereof for a habitation for the Lord of glory, as he had appointed. For if they had not had faith, it would have been impossible for them to have won through the sea as they did, and then come so far on: and now, when they are into the land, it is ◊scottish{als#as|also}also impossible for them to possess themselves there, and to overcome such strong cities as were there, whilk they were informed of a little before, by the spies that were sent to see the land. Now what should they do in this case? ◊ref{Josh.5}, it is said, Joshua and the @@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ more but this, go march about the city, as I direct you; the armed men of you, let them go in the front, and next unto them seven priests with seven trumpets, and these not the silver trumpets, but trumpets of rams' horns; and after them let the ark of the Lord follow, and then all the rest in the rear: and this ye shall do seven days. Six of them ye shall go about but once ◊scottish{ilk#each|every}each day; but the seventh day ye shall compass it seven times, and at the seventh time the priests shall blow their trumpets. Then all the people shall give a great shout and the walls shall fall flat to the ground." Now Joshua, he hears this spoken, and he @@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ promise, and they march on and obeyed the direction; and so through their faith and obedience the success follows answerable to the promise, and they take in the city.

That ye may take up the purpose the better, consider of it in ◊scottish{thir#these|those}these four particulars. 1. The great strength that stood up against the people of God here, under the name of the "walls of Jericho." 2. The special and principal strength that God's people opposed against these strong walls,--- "Faith." 3. @@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ The weak means that the people used for casting down the walls. If they had been bidden fight, they would have done it; but the Lord would not have them to fight now, albeit they were made to fight afterwards,---now they must use the weak means that the Lord had appointed, and that was, To compass the walls seven days, and as it is ◊ref{Josh.6} ◊scottish{ilk#each|every}each day of six they compassed it but once, and the seventh day seven times. 4. There is the happy and victorious success of the people of God against their enemies. He makes the walls to fall, and they fall so as if there had been no wall there at all, even flat to the @@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ of the truth of God's promise, who has promised that his people shall rule over their enemies.

I. "The walls of Jericho." The people, they behoved to make fordward against ◊scottish{thir#these|those}these walls for ◊scottish{als#as|also}as strong as they were, for they were now come out of Egypt, and they had broken the yoke of their servitude there; they were come through the Red Sea, and were baptized there, as the apostle calls it; they were come through the wilderness, and had overcome the kings there; and they were come @@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ back to their former slavery, and I may say to a worse slavery than ever they had been in before, yea in great hazard of losing themselves and all that they had, and of all that came after them. And therefore they resolve this, that there is no returning for them, but they will fordward into the way, and will set against this city, for ◊scottish{als#as|also}as strong as the walls of it were, yea suppose every stone in the wall were a man, yet they will to it. Beloved, when we are once entered into a good course, we must not return again; for if we return again, it will be very hard with us. In the matter of the redemption of our @@ -111,7 +111,7 @@ greater than it was before. And therefore, it were best for us to resolve to go fordward, as we would wish either happiness to ourselves or to our posterity after us.

Now for the strength of ◊scottish{thir#these|those}these walls, it was great, as it is ◊ref{Deut.1.28}; and by (over and above) their strength, they are of a great height also, for ye know the spies that were sent to spy the land said that the walls of the cities reached to the very heavens, so that it was not able for any to win them: so @@ -123,7 +123,7 @@ body but deficient in courage.} for they were strong men also; and especially the strongest men would be here, in the frontiers of the country; and the text says that they were men of valour. And then they were expert in war; for the little kings there agreed not well together, and that made the men to be expert, ◊scottish{ilk#each|every} ◊scottish{ane#an|one}each one of them to defend themselves from another. Ye may think they had all these, but had no wit to guide them? Ye may not think that neither, for they had civil policy among them, they had a king; and when they saw the enemy approaching, they sit down to a council of war, to consult what they should do @@ -166,7 +166,7 @@ respects, will join in profession and in a confession with the people of God, but when trouble comes, withdraws again.◊footnote{Perhaps the allusion here is to some few among the nobility, such as Cassilis and Rae, who were supposed at this time to have deserted the covenanting interest.} And, indeed, these are the worst sort of enemies the kirk has; and every ◊scottish{ane#an|one}one of us carries about with us a great measure of unbelief mixed with our faith. What should we do then? Now I would not have you to think that I am telling you of all this to discourage you from going on into a good course when ye are into it, but only @@ -174,7 +174,7 @@ to let you see that we have great need of the power of God, when we are begun into a good course, and to let us see, if the Lord but leave us to ourselves for a little, then we will be nothing else but a prey to our enemies both spiritual and temporal. And if there were no other enemy, yet our own heart is ◊scottish{ane#an|one}an enemy great enough to hinder any good work. And these enemies that I would have you now to take heed to are spiritual enemies. There is no nation or kirk but they have spiritual enemies, evermore some who is ready to hinder a good work from being done, or when it is done to undo it: when there is a @@ -200,7 +200,7 @@ such a good work sheuld have gone so far on here in so short a time. They are very ignorant who knows not that it is evermore the malice of enemies to oppose any good work when it is begun, and to hinder it so far as they can.

II. "Faith." Thisis the strength that they must oppose against ◊scottish{thir#these|those}these strong high walls. There are two things to be considered here. 1. The persons who had this faith. 2. How their faithwas a strength to overcome these mighty walls.

@@ -208,14 +208,14 @@ faith. 2. How their faithwas a strength to overcome these mighty walls. are many notable persons marked before in this cloud of witnesses for their singular faith whilk they themselves had, and there were notable things

done by them through faith; but now in ◊scottish{thir#these|those}these last two examples, it is not the faith of one singular man that is marked, but of many. Ye heard that when the Red Sea was divided it was not Moses' faith alone that did it, but the whole people; and now he says, "By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days." Now, by whom was it that they were compassed? Not by Joshua alone, but by the people of God; and therefore, it was by their faith the walls fell. Beloved, (as I said before), I may say there were divers among ◊scottish{thir#these|those}these people who had no faith at all, and there was unbelief in the hearts of the best of them; and yet, for all that, ye see there is no mention made of the unbelievers, nor yet of the mixture that was in these who had faith: and so ye see that faith prevails so over unbelief, that there is no mention at all @@ -244,9 +244,9 @@ Now concerning faith, look to a threefold work that it has. 1. In believing and apprehending anything to be true. By faith we believe that the world was made; we have no more warrant that the world was created, but that it was from eternity, but only from the word of God. 2. The second work of faith is doing. There is ◊scottish{mickle#large|much|great}much action, ye see, ascribed to faith in this same cap., in Enoch, Abraham, Moses, etc., and all these worthies who are put into this register. 3. The third work is suffering; for through faith they did suffer ◊scottish{mickle#large|much|great}much for the truth, mockings, imprisonment, stoning, etc.: yea, all the ills that man could lay upon them, they did endure them all through faith. First, faith is shewn by believing and apprehending the truth of God's word; secondly, in action, by @@ -271,7 +271,7 @@ them, and yet in the meantime they are confident to be victorious through their strength. When God's people believe his promise, they have strength enough against all their enemies, albeit the enemies perceive it not.

◊it{Secondly}, Beloved, how is it that faith is strong enough against all ◊scottish{thir#these|those}these walls and powers? It seems that it is a enchantment to make them fall down; for what strength was there in their faith to make the walls of Jericho to fall down? That ye may consider this purpose the better, consider of these things. @@ -312,7 +312,7 @@ to fall to the ground, and set up his own kirk: whatever be the power that the Lord choose for the doing of it, yet we are sure he will do it. God's people, whereever they are in every land, albeit they have not a particular for every one of them, yet they have a general promise particularly applied; and is not that ◊scottish{als#as|also}also good? God has promised to his people, "I will never leave you, nor forsake you:" "I will be a sun and a shield to you?" and so labour once to make this sure, that ye are the people of God, and that ye are labouring to live as it becomes his people to do, and then ye may say that all the promises made to @@ -327,17 +327,17 @@ performed.

III. Now with this secret strength there are means joined; and the means that are joined seems to be very weak for that end. Only to compass the city about once ◊scottish{ilk#each|every}each day of six, and on the seventh day seven times, and at the seventh time, the seventh day, the priests to blow their trumpets of rams' horns, and all the people to give a shout ---these seems to be very weak means, yet it was that whilk God had ordained; and they give obedience to it. And indeed, obedience to the commandment of God is a great help to get a thing done well, and has great virtue with it. The means that the Lord chooses in themselves seems to be very weak, and so were ◊scottish{thir#these|those}these also; but the Lord chooses them for good reasons. 1. To harden the hearts of the enemies. Their doings now seemed to them to be but ridiculous, for they thought now that they had only been but jesting them, to see them all marching in order about the walls, and never a word among them, nor never ◊scottish{ane#an|one}a preassing (endeavouring) to stir them; but this is done that the enemies may never take the matter to heart, till their destruction come upon them. 2. These weak means were ordained also to try the faith of God's people, for he thought it meeter, at their first entry in the @@ -360,7 +360,7 @@ character, we are safe in concluding, that if he had himself been a mean of organizing the commotions of the previous year, according to Guthrie, he would have avoided this and such like assertions.} And therefore consider of this when ye come to hear the word, and to receive the sacraments. Thou may think, "what needs me to go out of my own house for ◊scottish{thir#these|those}these things? I may get all at home that I see there." Yet consider that it is a compassing of the walls of spiritual Jericho, and a sounding of trumpets against it; and if thou will use these things in faith, and in obedience to the commandment of God, thou shall @@ -382,7 +382,7 @@ between the thought and language in the Sermon and in the Catechism is observable.} And therefore, albeit the means of themselves seem to be weak, yet come to the using of them in obedience and in faith, and thou will find the success thereof to be answerable to all that is spoken of them; providing that thou go about as long as God has directed thee. ◊scottish{Thir#These|those}These people might have thought, we have gone about once, and there is not one stone fallen yet; yea, when they had gone about six days, there was not a stone fallen nor loused; yea, when they went about the sixth time the seventh day, all was as at the beginning: @@ -401,7 +401,7 @@ he believes that there isa good time coming, when the promise shall be fulfilled. This upholds him in his straits. ◊it{Second}, whilk is a very strong one, even the testimony that he has within himself of his obedience, and that he is doing the will of God: that assures him of a victory over all his enemies. So long as thou has ◊scottish{thir#these|those}these two, thou needs not to fear. So let us evermore believe the truth of God''s word and of his promise, and then let us certify ourselves that he will come, and go on in obedience to his will against all enemies, and then we may be sure of victory over them. ◊it{Obj.} When some @@ -410,11 +410,11 @@ greater, and the truth has been borne down more. ◊it{A.} The due time has not been then come, and God has done so for his further praise; but it shall not always be so. For albeit to thy sense all seem to be gone, yet because God has made a paction with his people to deliver them, therefore they shall be delivered, and the enemies shall be altogether confounded, as ◊scottish{thir#these|those}these walls fell all at a rush; which was greater glory to God than if they had been thrown down stone and stone.

But was there no other strength nor no other means whereby ◊scottish{thir#these|those}these walls were overcome? Yes, there was more; for as ye heard out of ◊ref{Josh.5}, there is one who is prince and captain of the Lord's host, he is with them, and this is no other but Jesus Christ; and Joshua worships him, and calls him, The Lord. He @@ -463,7 +463,7 @@ to a height, their cup was now full; for ye know there it is said to Abraham, "The cup of the Amorites is not full;" and therefore Abraham and his seed behoved to be strangers four hundred and thirty years; but now their sin is at a height. From the very beginning their sins were crying for a vengeance from God, and ◊scottish{ilk#each|every}each sin that they committed pyked out a stone, and undermynded the walls, and so their own sins were their ruin. When all sort of sin grew common in all sorts and ranks of persons, and sin came to a height in all, and they did abound in atheism, idolatry, excess, filthiness, bloodshed, deceit, craft, @@ -484,14 +484,14 @@ seems they put their whole trust in their walls, for they used no means to hold off the enemy, but only keep their ports fast; and yet, ye see, that same was the thing that beguiled them. And therefore, . we should look what it is that draws our hearts off God, for God will light upon that. If we trust in our wisdom, courage, strength, friends, etc., if any of these become ◊scottish{ane#an|one}an idol to thee, then God will ruin that to the very ground: thy wisdom shall be turned into foolishness, thy strength in weakness, thy friends in enemies. And therefore, we had great need to take heed to ourselves, that we lippen not over ◊scottish{mickle#large|much|great}much in anything beside God; for, indeed, the most part lippens all to the means, but looks not to God. Indeed, we may use second means; but put no confidence in the means, as if they of themselves were able to do anything; otherwise ‘thou art ◊scottish{ane#an|one}an enemy to God, and he will make that'to disappoint thee wherein thou lippens most.

◊it{Thirdly}, God took the people's hearts who were within the town. For when @@ -511,7 +511,7 @@ So when the enemies are forced to acknowledge that we are the people of God, and they are also forced to grant that it is the cause of God we have to defend, and that he has already wrought great things for us, then indeed there will be a divine terrour into the enemies' hearts, and their hearts will fall clean away. ◊scottish{Thir#These|those}These people were so stricken with fear that it is said, "their hearts melted" like wax; and it seems that it was because of that they did close their ports.

@@ -558,12 +558,12 @@ And T hear there be some who challenges this point in our Confession of faith, that people and subjects, all of them should join themselves together for the defence of Religion, and every one of them of another, in a good cause.◊footnote{No comment is here required by any who have the least acquaintance with the history of the time.} Beloved, certainly as that is ◊scottish{als#as|also}as steadable (available) a point as any that is in it, so it is ◊scottish{als#as|also}as laudable a point as any that is in it. Some people may well object, and say, If authority had interposed such a thing, then it were lawful and commendable; but seeing that it is done without authority, what warrant have they to join themselves thus together? I may say that this is ◊scottish{ane#an|one}an of the main and principal causes why authority is opposite to this good and glorious work; for if all would join themselves together in this work, then the Lord would put it into the king's heart to take some good course for establishing of religion; but when there be

a/src/0020.pm b/src/0020.pm index 40133de..5fcbd2b 100644 --- a/src/0020.pm +++ b/src/0020.pm @@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ the promised land, it is by faith that they must be possessed into it, and build Jerusalem in the midst thereof for a habitation for the Lord of glory, as he had appointed. For if they had not had faith, it would have been impossible for them to have won through the sea as they did, and then come so far on: and now, when they are into the land, it is als◊scottish{als#as|also} impossible for them to possess themselves there, and to overcome such strong cities as were there, whilk they were informed of a little before, by the spies that were sent to see the land. Now what should they do in this case? ◊ref{Josh.5}, it is said, Joshua and the @@ -32,15 +32,15 @@ for then he knew not who it was. And he said, "Nay, but as captain of the host of the Lord am I now come." Then Joshua knew that it was Jesus Christ, and fell on his face and worshipped, and said, "What sayeth my Lord to his servant?" He says, "Be not feared for this Jericho, for I have given it into thy hand;" and whereas he would have asked next, "How sallshall that be?" he says, "Ye sallshall do no more but this, go march about the city, as I direct you; the armed men of you, let them go in the front, and next unto them seven priests with seven trumpets, and these not the silver trumpets, but trumpets of rams' horns; and after them let the ark of the Lord follow, and then all the rest in the rear: and this ye sallshall do seven days. Six of them ye sallshall go about but anes ilkonce ◊scottish{ilk#each|every} day; but the seventh day ye sallshall compass it seven times, and at the seventh time the priests sallshall blow their trumpets. Then all the people sallshall give a great shout and the walls sallshall fall flat to the ground." Now Joshua, he hears this spoken, and he knows that it is the Lord who speaks it, and therefore he believes it, and he tells the priests to tell it to the people, and he tells it out to them so far as his voice could extend: and God puts it in their hearts to believe the @@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ promise, and they march on and obeyed the direction; and so through their faith and obedience the success follows answerable to the promise, and they take in the city.

That ye may take up the purpose the better, consider of it in thir◊scottish{thir#these|those} four particulars. 1. The great strength that stood up against the people of God here, under the name of the "walls of Jericho." 2. The special and principal strength that God's people opposed against these strong walls,--- "Faith." 3. @@ -56,62 +56,62 @@ The weak means that the people used for casting down the walls. If they had been bidden fight, they would have done it; but the Lord would not have them to fight now, albeit they were made to fight afterwards,---now they must use the weak means that the Lord had appointed, and that was, To compass the walls seven days, and as it is ◊ref{Josh.6} ilk◊scottish{ilk#each|every} day of six they compassed it but anes,once, and the seventh day seven times. 4. There is the happy and victorious success of the people of God against their enemies. He makes the walls to fall, and they fall so as if there had been no wall there at all, even flat to the ground; and the people of God went in and destroyed their enemies. Certainly, were there never so strong holds against us, could we grip to the promise of God, and believe it in faith, and go on in obedience to it till the seventh day and the seventh time of that day, we would undoubtedly get the victory because of the truth of God's promise, who has promised that his people sallshall rule over their enemies.

I. "The walls of Jericho." The people, they behoved to make fordward against thir◊scottish{thir#these|those} walls for als◊scottish{als#as|also} strong as they were, for they were now come out of Egypt, and they had broken the yoke of their servitude there; they were come through the Red Sea, and were baptized there, as the apostle calls it; they were come through the wilderness, and had overcome the kings there; and they were come through Jordan: and now they were entered into the promised land, what sallshall they do?

It is hard for them on all sides, for this was a strong city they were to set upon first; for them to go back, they had no promise that Jordan should be divided as before; when they are through Jordan, they would meet with strong enemies into the wilderness, and they had no promise to overcome them. And when they are through the wilderness, where sallshall they go to next? They had no promise that the Red Sea should be divided; and suppose they went about the Red Sea, then they must go back again to Egypt: and going back to Egypt, they go back to their former slavery, and I may say to a worse slavery than ever they had been in before, yea in great hazard of losing themselves and all that they had, and of all that came after them. And therefore they resolve this, that there is no returning for them, but they will fordward into the way, and will set against this city, for als◊scottish{als#as|also} strong as the walls of it were, yea suppose every stone in the wall were a man, yet they will to it. Beloved, when we are anesonce entered into a good course, we must not return again; for if we return again, it will be very hard with us. In the matter of the redemption of our awinown souls, is it not great folly for us, when we have anesonce shaken affoff the yoke and bondage of sin, and has begun to go on in the right way, that then we sallshall begin to return, because we see some great mountain to be in the way? If we return, then our bondage sallshall be seven times multiplied upon us; and it had been better for us never to have known the way of righteousness, than having anesonce known it and entered in it, to turn back again. And viewing the case of the kirk of Scotland presently, we may say this of it, When we have begun, by the mercy and power of God, to shake affoff the yoke whilk was. lying upon us, whilk fourteen taskmasters◊footnote{The fourteen Bishops} did hold fast on, when we, I say, are begun to cast affoff that yoke, and gave testimony before the world that we have hated them and their fashions, and the Lord has brought us that far on as to renew our Covenant with him, if now we begin to sound a retreat again, then of necessity we must go back to Egypt; and if we go back, then the yoke sallshall be so fast wreathed upon our necks, that it sallshall not be gotten so well affoff them again, and our servitude and slavery sallshall be greater than it was before. Always, in our consciences, in our bodies, in our means, our liberties, and our posterity also, our bondage then sallshall be seven times greater than it was before. And therefore, it were best for us to resolve to go fordward, as we would wish either happiness to ourselves or to our posterity after us.

Now for the strength of thir◊scottish{thir#these|those} walls, it was great, as it is ◊ref{Deut.1.28}; and by (over and above) their strength, they are of a great height also, for ye know the spies that were sent to spy the land said that the walls of the cities reached to the very heavens, so that it was not able for any to win them: so @@ -123,17 +123,17 @@ body but deficient in courage.} for they were strong men also; and especially the strongest men would be here, in the frontiers of the country; and the text says that they were men of valour. And then they were expert in war; for the little kings there agreed not well together, and that made the men to be expert, ilk ane◊scottish{ilk#each|every} ◊scottish{ane#an|one} of them to defend themselves from another. Ye may think they had all these, but had no wit to guide them? Ye may not think that neither, for they had civil policy among them, they had a king; and when they saw the enemy approaching, they sit down to a council of war, to consult what they should do to hold affoff the enemy; and they think it enough to hold the ports fast. And so they thought, if Joshua and these who were with him would not flee at first, they would force them to it by holding them out. This was one great strength.

But there was another strength there greater than all their walls and gates,---even the gates of hell were there to hold out the peopleof God. The powerof the devil was there; they had strong and mighty anes,once, principalities and powers, to defend them, for they worshipped devils. And I may lawfully say they did so, for the Scripture says it,---that all worship of heathens or Papists, even whatsoever is not done according to God's word, that it is done @@ -166,15 +166,15 @@ respects, will join in profession and in a confession with the people of God, but when trouble comes, withdraws again.◊footnote{Perhaps the allusion here is to some few among the nobility, such as Cassilis and Rae, who were supposed at this time to have deserted the covenanting interest.} And, indeed, these are the worst sort of enemies the kirk has; and every ane◊scottish{ane#an|one} of us carries about with us a great measure of unbelief mixed with our faith. What should we do then? Now I would not have you to think that I am telling you of all this to discourage you from going on into a good course when ye are into it, but only to let you see that we have great need of the power of God, when we are begun into a good course, and to let us see, if the Lord but leave us to ourselves for a little, then we will be nothing else but a prey to our enemies both spiritual and temporal. And if there were no other enemy, yet our awinown heart is ane◊scottish{ane#an|one} enemy great enough to hinder any good work. And these enemies that I would have you now to take heed to are spiritual enemies. There is no nation or kirk but they have spiritual enemies, evermore some who is ready to hinder a good work from being done, or when it is done to undo it: when there is a @@ -184,12 +184,12 @@ spiritual Jericho; for when the Lord comes, he besieges that heart, he displays his colours of red and white, war and peace, and he lays out also his black colours of death, to make that heart to yield. What does the carnal man then? He says, I will not yield for all that, I will not be moved, for I have strong walls to hold out all these. Unbelief still says, "I sallshall have peace, though I walk in the imaginations of my awinown heart;" that is, Let the Lord do what he pleases, I sallshall find peace, and I will continue in my awinown ways, and yet I sallshall find peace. Yet, when the Lord sends his last trumpet to sound, and the dead shall rise, then all these walls, they sallshall fall flat to the ground, if it be not before then; and then the opposer sallshall be cast in everlasting burning, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. And if there be such opposition into one soul, what opposition must there be in many souls; and when there is such opposition against the reformation of one heart, what must there be when @@ -200,7 +200,7 @@ such a good work sheuld have gone so far on here in so short a time. They are very ignorant who knows not that it is evermore the malice of enemies to oppose any good work when it is begun, and to hinder it so far as they can.

II. "Faith." Thisis the strength that they must oppose against thir◊scottish{thir#these|those} strong high walls. There are two things to be considered here. 1. The persons who had this faith. 2. How their faithwas a strength to overcome these mighty walls.

@@ -208,14 +208,14 @@ faith. 2. How their faithwas a strength to overcome these mighty walls. are many notable persons marked before in this cloud of witnesses for their singular faith whilk they themselves had, and there were notable things

done by them through faith; but now in thir◊scottish{thir#these|those} last two examples, it is not the faith of one singular man that is marked, but of many. Ye heard that when the Red Sea was divided it was not Moses' faith alone that did it, but the whole people; and now he says, "By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days." Now, by whom was it that they were compassed? Not by Joshua alone, but by the people of God; and therefore, it was by their faith the walls fell. Beloved, (as I said before), I may say there were divers among thir◊scottish{thir#these|those} people who had no faith at all, and there was unbelief in the hearts of the best of them; and yet, for all that, ye see there is no mention made of the unbelievers, nor yet of the mixture that was in these who had faith: and so ye see that faith prevails so over unbelief, that there is no mention at all @@ -232,21 +232,21 @@ till time should try that they joined in sincerity from love to the cause, and not from the fear of men." Notwithstanding, however, of this vigilance and care, some had crept in unawares who were a discredit to the cause.} who may be ready to bring the curse of God upon others? Albeit it be so, yet we must not leave affoff for all that; and albeit there be many ignorant and unbelieving creatures, and wicked also, joined to it, and the best has great ills, yet that is not looked to; but if there be any sincere or upright work in any, that is looked to by God, and commended. And indeed, this is a great cause of rejoicing to the people and servants of God, that neither the infidelity that is altogether in some, nor yet the mixture of faith and infidelity that is in the best, sallshall prevail, but faith sallshall prevail above them all.

Now concerning faith, look to a threefold work that it has. 1. In believing and apprehending anything to be true. By faith we believe that the world was made; we have no more warrant that the world was created, but that it was from eternity, but only from the word of God. 2. The second work of faith is doing. There is mickle◊scottish{mickle#large|much|great} action, ye see, ascribed to faith in this same cap., in Enoch, Abraham, Moses, etc., and all these worthies who are put into this register. 3. The third work is suffering; for through faith they did suffer mickle◊scottish{mickle#large|much|great} for the truth, mockings, imprisonment, stoning, etc.: yea, all the ills that man could lay upon them, they did endure them all through faith. First, faith is shewn by believing and apprehending the truth of God's word; secondly, in action, by @@ -271,12 +271,12 @@ them, and yet in the meantime they are confident to be victorious through their strength. When God's people believe his promise, they have strength enough against all their enemies, albeit the enemies perceive it not.

◊it{Secondly}, Beloved, how is it that faith is strong enough against all thir◊scottish{thir#these|those} walls and powers? It seems that it is a enchantment to make them fall down; for what strength was there in their faith to make the walls of Jericho to fall down? That ye may consider this purpose the better, consider of these things. 1. The people of God, they did believe his power, that he was strong enough. 2. Consider that the Lord gives them a promise that the walls of Jericho sallshall fall. 3. They believe this promise of God to be true. 4. And lastly, the Lord in his due time, upon the seventh day, and the seventh time of the seventh day, the Lord employs his power for performing his promise to them. So it is the @@ -294,26 +294,26 @@ they had a particular promise for this? It's true indeed that where God has made a special and particular promise, we are bound to believe; but without that, it's presumption; or if we had the faith of miracles, then we might remove mountains; but where none of these are, what better can we be? Beloved, there is a special promise made to the kirk of God, that she sallshall never perish, but sallshall continue to all generations; that she sallshall never be moved, because she is builded on the rock hewn without hands. Secondly, there is another special promise made, that the true kirk of God sallshall prevail over the false kirk of Antichrist; and so ye know there is a threatening in the Revelation, that Babel, the mother of fornications, sallshall be destroyed. So then, albeit all the kings and princes in the earth should join and band themselves together against the true kirk of God, whilk is builded on the rock, they may well persecute her for a while, but they sallshall never extinguish her, nor put her clean out; yea indeed, by persecution the true kirk does rather increase nor decrease. If all the kings and princes in the earth should turn, (as they wrongfully call them), Catholick kings, and join all their powers and forces together for the holding up of Babel, yet, in despite of them all, it sallshall fall to the ground; and he who has begun to make Religion to shine, sallshall in his appointed time make Babel to fall to the ground, and set up his awinown kirk: whatever be the power that the Lord choose for the doing of it, yet we are sure he will do it. God's people, whereever they are in every land, albeit they have not a particular for every one of them, yet they have a general promise particularly applied; and is not that als◊scottish{als#as|also} good? God has promised to his people, "I will never leave you, nor forsake you:" "I will be a sun and a shield to you?" and so labour anesonce to make this sure, that ye are the people of God, and that ye are labouring to live as it becomes his people to do, and then ye may say that all the promises made to the kirk of God, or to any within the kirk ever since the beginning, they @@ -322,22 +322,22 @@ serve him with all your hearts. For the Lord will not forsake his people for his great name's sake: because it hath pleased the Lord to make you his people." And, indeed. Israel had no greater assurance to have the promises fulfilled to them than we have, if so be we will fear the Lord, and serve him with our whole heart; and if he perform one promise for us, then all sallshall be performed.

III. Now with this secret strength there are means joined; and the means that are joined seems to be very weak for that end. Only to compass the city about anes ilkonce ◊scottish{ilk#each|every} day of six, and on the seventh day seven times, and at the seventh time, the seventh day, the priests to blow their trumpets of rams' horns, and all the people to give a shout ---these seems to be very weak means, yet it was that whilk God had ordained; and they give obedience to it. And indeed, obedience to the commandment of God is a great help to get a thing done well, and has great virtue with it. The means that the Lord chooses in themselves seems to be very weak, and so were thir◊scottish{thir#these|those} also; but the Lord chooses them for good reasons. 1. To harden the hearts of the enemies. Their doings now seemed to them to be but ridiculous, for they thought now that they had only been but jesting them, to see them all marching in order about the walls, and never a word among them, nor never ane◊scottish{ane#an|one} preassing (endeavouring) to stir them; but this is done that the enemies may never take the matter to heart, till their destruction come upon them. 2. These weak means were ordained also to try the faith of God's people, for he thought it meeter, at their first entry in the @@ -354,16 +354,16 @@ strength, but only the preaching of some few weak apostles. And in the beginning of the Reformation there were but few for religion, but now it has spread itself very far, and many are for it. And at the beginning of this same great work in this land few did appear for it at first, and these were not mighty anes,once, yet now it has spread throughout the whole land.◊footnote{Knowing the truthfulness of Henderson's nature, and the acknowledged integrity of his character, we are safe in concluding, that if he had himself been a mean of organizing the commotions of the previous year, according to Guthrie, he would have avoided this and such like assertions.} And therefore consider of this when ye come to hear the word, and to receive the sacraments. Thou may think, "what needs me to go out of my own house for thir◊scottish{thir#these|those} things? I may get all at home that I see there." Yet consider that it is a compassing of the walls of spiritual Jericho, and a sounding of trumpets against it; and if thou will use these things in faith, and in obedience to the commandment of God, thou sallshall find the success thereof answerable to all that is spoken of them. What virtue was there in the water of Jordan more than in other water? Yet Naaman, he behoved to wash there, because it was the commandment of the Lord; and he was @@ -382,8 +382,8 @@ between the thought and language in the Sermon and in the Catechism is observable.} And therefore, albeit the means of themselves seem to be weak, yet come to the using of them in obedience and in faith, and thou will find the success thereof to be answerable to all that is spoken of them; providing that thou go about as long as God has directed thee. Thir◊scottish{Thir#These|those} people might have thought, we have gone about anes,once, and there is not one stone fallen yet; yea, when they had gone about six days, there was not a stone fallen nor loused; yea, when they went about the sixth time the seventh day, all was as at the beginning: and the reason of it was, ◊it{because the appointed time was not yet come}. So @@ -392,29 +392,29 @@ see not a stone of our spiritual corruptions falling to the ground more than at the first day, but they stand; and when we have opposed them, no prevailing over them, but rather they have prevailed over us; yet for all that, let us still believe in faith, and use the means: and if we will do so constantly, let us then resolve that the time is coming when all these walls sallshall fall, and we sallshall get victory over all our enemies. There be two things to comfort a Christian soul in these onsets. ◊it{First}, that he believes and rests upon the promise of God, and by that he knows that he sallshall come quickly, and sallshall not tarry; so he believes that the word of God is true whilk he has promised; and he believes that there isa good time coming, when the promise sallshall be fulfilled. This upholds him in his straits. ◊it{Second}, whilk is a very strong one, even the testimony that he has within himself of his obedience, and that he is doing the will of God: that assures him of a victory over all his enemies. So long as thou has thir◊scottish{thir#these|those} two, thou needs not to fear. So let us evermore believe the truth of God''s word and of his promise, and then let us certify ourselves that he will come, and go on in obedience to his will against all enemies, and then we may be sure of victory over them. ◊it{Obj.} When some witnesses of the truth has opposed the enemies thereof, the enemies have grown greater, and the truth has been borne down more. ◊it{A.} The due time has not been then come, and God has done so for his further praise; but it sallshall not always be so. For albeit to thy sense all seem to be gone, yet because God has made a paction with his people to deliver them, therefore they sallshall be delivered, and the enemies sallshall be altogether confounded, as thir◊scottish{thir#these|those} walls fell all at a rush; which was greater glory to God than if they had been thrown down stone and stone.

But was there no other strength nor no other means whereby thir◊scottish{thir#these|those} walls were overcome? Yes, there was more; for as ye heard out of ◊ref{Josh.5}, there is one who is prince and captain of the Lord's host, he is with them, and this is no other but Jesus Christ; and Joshua worships him, and calls him, The Lord. He @@ -458,13 +458,13 @@ power to very weak means, of necessity the success must follow, according to his promise.

Let us observe here a word of three or four causes that made the walls to fall. The ◊it{first}, ye sallshall learn it out of ◊ref{Gen.15.16}. Their sin was now come to a height, their cup was now full; for ye know there it is said to Abraham, "The cup of the Amorites is not full;" and therefore Abraham and his seed behoved to be strangers four hundred and thirty years; but now their sin is at a height. From the very beginning their sins were crying for a vengeance from God, and ilk◊scottish{ilk#each|every} sin that they committed pyked out a stone, and undermynded the walls, and so their awinown sins were their ruin. When all sort of sin grew common in all sorts and ranks of persons, and sin came to a height in all, and they did abound in atheism, idolatry, excess, filthiness, bloodshed, deceit, craft, malice, etc; when all sins were come to a perfection, then of necessity wrath @@ -481,17 +481,17 @@ to fall. ◊it{Secondly}, They had a strong confidence in their walls---they thought it impossible for any to take them in, or to get their walls overcome. For it seems they put their whole trust in their walls, for they used no means to hold affoff the enemy, but only keep their ports fast; and yet, ye see, that same was the thing that beguiled them. And therefore, . we should look what it is that draws our hearts affoff God, for God will light upon that. If we trust in our wisdom, courage, strength, friends, etc., if any of these become ane◊scottish{ane#an|one} idol to thee, then God will ruin that to the very ground: thy wisdom sallshall be turned into foolishness, thy strength in weakness, thy friends in enemies. And therefore, we had great need to take heed to ourselves, that we lippen not over mickle◊scottish{mickle#large|much|great} in anything beside God; for, indeed, the most part lippens all to the means, but looks not to God. Indeed, we may use second means; but put no confidence in the means, as if they of themselves were able to do anything; otherwise ‘thou art ane◊scottish{ane#an|one} enemy to God, and he will make that'to disappoint thee wherein thou lippens most.

◊it{Thirdly}, God took the people's hearts who were within the town. For when @@ -500,7 +500,7 @@ the people's hearts were fainting, and their terrours were fallen upon them; for they had heard how the Lord had dried up the Red Sea before them; how they had overcome the two kings of the Amorites. "When they heard of these things," she says, "their hearts did melt, and there remained no courage in them;" for they kentknew that God himself was fighting for them, who was God of heaven and earth. Beloved, God can strike men with other mighty terrours than these, as he did Paul; but he can strike them with divine terrours into their minds; especially this will be, when the enemies apprehends that it is God's people @@ -511,7 +511,7 @@ So when the enemies are forced to acknowledge that we are the people of God, and they are also forced to grant that it is the cause of God we have to defend, and that he has already wrought great things for us, then indeed there will be a divine terrour into the enemies' hearts, and their hearts will fall clean away. Thir◊scottish{Thir#These|those} people were so stricken with fear that it is said, "their hearts melted" like wax; and it seems that it was because of that they did close their ports.

@@ -532,7 +532,7 @@ all members of one body; and seeing they are all members of one body, why may they not all join together for the defence of their head and themselves? They are all sailing into one ship together through the stormy seas of this tempestuous world; and so when there is a leak strucken up into the one end of the ship, sallshall the rest say, "I will not stir, because it is not come to me?" No, all should join together for to mend it again, and so to hold out the water. We are all of us in one house, under one roof; and therefore when the fire is begun in the one end of the house, will not thou rise to help to @@ -558,12 +558,12 @@ And T hear there be some who challenges this point in our Confession of faith, that people and subjects, all of them should join themselves together for the defence of Religion, and every one of them of another, in a good cause.◊footnote{No comment is here required by any who have the least acquaintance with the history of the time.} Beloved, certainly as that is als◊scottish{als#as|also} steadable (available) a point as any that is in it, so it is als◊scottish{als#as|also} laudable a point as any that is in it. Some people may well object, and say, If authority had interposed such a thing, then it were lawful and commendable; but seeing that it is done without authority, what warrant have they to join themselves thus together? I may say that this is ane◊scottish{ane#an|one} of the main and principal causes why authority is opposite to this good and glorious work; for if all would join themselves together in this work, then the Lord would put it into the king's heart to take some good course for establishing of religion; but when there be

a/src/0020.pm b/src/0020.pm index 59e3c02..40133de 100644 --- a/src/0020.pm +++ b/src/0020.pm @@ -204,9 +204,9 @@ II. "Faith." Thisis the strength that they must oppose against thir strong high walls. There are two things to be considered here. 1. The persons who had this faith. 2. How their faithwas a strength to overcome these mighty walls.

◊it{First}, The persons who had this faith. It was not Joshua his alone. There are many notable persons marked before in this cloud of witnesses for their singular faith whilk they themselves had, and there were notable things

done by them through faith; but now in thir last two examples, it is not the faith of one singular man that is marked, but of many. Ye heard that when the @@ -342,7 +342,7 @@ is done that the enemies may never take the matter to heart, till their destruction come upon them. 2. These weak means were ordained also to try the faith of God's people, for he thought it meeter, at their first entry in the land, to try their faith than their valour. Might not the wise grave old men that were among them think, what a foolish thing 1sis this, for us to go about the city thus? And then we must have trumpets with us, and not the silver trumpets, but base ones of rams' horns, and go in order, and not speak, and so oft, even thirteen times! All this was done to try their faith. @@ -398,7 +398,7 @@ Christian soul in these onsets. ◊it{First}, that he believes and rests upon th promise of God, and by that he knows that he sall come quickly, and sall not tarry; so he believes that the word of God is true whilk he has promised; and he believes that there isa good time coming, when the promise sall be fulfilled. This upholds him in his straits. ◊it{Second}, whilk 1sis a very strong one, even the testimony that he has within himself of his obedience, and that he is doing the will of God: that assures him of a victory over all his enemies. So long as thou has thir two, thou needs not to fear. So let us

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It is by faith that any good work is begun to, and it is faith principally that carries us forward in the doing of it against all difficulties that we can rancounter with in the way in the doing of it; and it is faith also that must bring the work to a comfortable conclusion; and it is by faith that we must be possessed in things promised by God, whilk promises are apprehended by faith, and so hoped for. Ye heard before (so many as were here), that it was by faith the people of God went through the Red Sea, and the Egyptians [were] drowned in it. And the truth is, albeit it be not set down here, yet it was by faith they came to the wilderness, and all things were furnished to them there in a barren desert, and that miraculously only, of the great care and extraordinar providence of God, both meat, drink, and clothes. It was by faith they overcame their enemies there, even these mighty kings of Bashan, etc. And it was by faith that they passed through Jordan miraculously; and now when they are into the promised land, it is by faith that they must be possessed into it, and build Jerusalem in the midst thereof for a habitation for the Lord of glory, as he had appointed. For if they had not had faith, it would have been impossible for them to have won through the sea as they did, and then come so far on: and now, when they are into the land, it is als impossible for them to possess themselves there, and to overcome such strong cities as were there, whilk they were informed of a little before, by the spies that were sent to see the land. Now what should they do in this case? ◊ref{Josh.5}, it is said, Joshua and the people, they see a strong city there, and strong walls about it; and there were not such engines of war then to batter down walls as are used sensyne (since then); and no question albeit there were believers among them, who believed the general promise that they should be possessed into that land, yet in that particular they were troubled, how they should get that strong town overcome. At this time there appeared to Joshua a man over against him, with his sword drawn into his hand. And Joshua said to him, "Art thou for us, or against us?" for then he knew not who it was. And he said, "Nay, but as captain of the host of the Lord am I now come." Then Joshua knew that it was Jesus Christ, and fell on his face and worshipped, and said, "What sayeth my Lord to his servant?" He says, "Be not feared for this Jericho, for I have given it into thy hand;" and whereas he would have asked next, "How sall that be?" he says, "Ye sall do no more but this, go march about the city, as I direct you; the armed men of you, let them go in the front, and next unto them seven priests with seven trumpets, and these not the silver trumpets, but trumpets of rams' horns; and after them let the ark of the Lord follow, and then all the rest in the rear: and this ye sall do seven days. Six of them ye sall go about but anes ilk day; but the seventh day ye sall compass it seven times, and at the seventh time the priests sall blow their trumpets. Then all the people sall give a great shout and the walls sall fall flat to the ground." Now Joshua, he hears this spoken, and he knows that it is the Lord who speaks it, and therefore he believes it, and he tells the priests to tell it to the people, and he tells it out to them so far as his voice could extend: and God puts it in their hearts to believe the promise, and they march on and obeyed the direction; and so through their faith and obedience the success follows answerable to the promise, and they take in the city.

That ye may take up the purpose the better, consider of it in thir four particulars. 1. The great strength that stood up against the people of God here, under the name of the "walls of Jericho." 2. The special and principal strength that God's people opposed against these strong walls,--- "Faith." 3. The weak means that the people used for casting down the walls. If they had been bidden fight, they would have done it; but the Lord would not have them to fight now, albeit they were made to fight afterwards,---now they must use the weak means that the Lord had appointed, and that was, To compass the walls seven days, and as it is ◊ref{Josh.6} ilk day of six they compassed it but anes, and the seventh day seven times. 4. There is the happy and victorious success of the people of God against their enemies. He makes the walls to fall, and they fall so as if there had been no wall there at all, even flat to the ground; and the people of God went in and destroyed their enemies. Certainly, were there never so strong holds against us, could we grip to the promise of God, and believe it in faith, and go on in obedience to it till the seventh day and the seventh time of that day, we would undoubtedly get the victory because of the truth of God's promise, who has promised that his people sall rule over their enemies.

I. "The walls of Jericho." The people, they behoved to make fordward against thir walls for als strong as they were, for they were now come out of Egypt, and they had broken the yoke of their servitude there; they were come through the Red Sea, and were baptized there, as the apostle calls it; they were come through the wilderness, and had overcome the kings there; and they were come through Jordan: and now they were entered into the promised land, what sall they do?

It is hard for them on all sides, for this was a strong city they were to set upon first; for them to go back, they had no promise that Jordan should be divided as before; when they are through Jordan, they would meet with strong enemies into the wilderness, and they had no promise to overcome them. And when they are through the wilderness, where sall they go to next? They had no promise that the Red Sea should be divided; and suppose they went about the Red Sea, then they must go back again to Egypt: and going back to Egypt, they go back to their former slavery, and I may say to a worse slavery than ever they had been in before, yea in great hazard of losing themselves and all that they had, and of all that came after them. And therefore they resolve this, that there is no returning for them, but they will fordward into the way, and will set against this city, for als strong as the walls of it were, yea suppose every stone in the wall were a man, yet they will to it. Beloved, when we are anes entered into a good course, we must not return again; for if we return again, it will be very hard with us. In the matter of the redemption of our awin souls, is it not great folly for us, when we have anes shaken aff the yoke and bondage of sin, and has begun to go on in the right way, that then we sall begin to return, because we see some great mountain to be in the way? If we return, then our bondage sall be seven times multiplied upon us; and it had been better for us never to have known the way of righteousness, than having anes known it and entered in it, to turn back again. And viewing the case of the kirk of Scotland presently, we may say this of it, When we have begun, by the mercy and power of God, to shake aff the yoke whilk was. lying upon us, whilk fourteen taskmasters◊footnote{The fourteen Bishops} did hold fast on, when we, I say, are begun to cast aff that yoke, and gave testimony before the world that we have hated them and their fashions, and the Lord has brought us that far on as to renew our Covenant with him, if now we begin to sound a retreat again, then of necessity we must go back to Egypt; and if we go back, then the yoke sall be so fast wreathed upon our necks, that it sall not be gotten so well aff them again, and our servitude and slavery sall be greater than it was before. Always, in our consciences, in our bodies, in our means, our liberties, and our posterity also, our bondage then sall be seven times greater than it was before. And therefore, it were best for us to resolve to go fordward, as we would wish either happiness to ourselves or to our posterity after us.

Now for the strength of thir walls, it was great, as it is ◊ref{Deut.1.28}; and by (over and above) their strength, they are of a great height also, for ye know the spies that were sent to spy the land said that the walls of the cities reached to the very heavens, so that it was not able for any to win them: so they were both strong and high. And then ye may not think that the city was waste; no, for there were men into it, and that of the sons of Anak, who were great tall men. And ye may not think, neither, that they were, as they use the proverb, "mickledom without virtue,"◊footnote{i.e., men of great strength of body but deficient in courage.} for they were strong men also; and especially the strongest men would be here, in the frontiers of the country; and the text says that they were men of valour. And then they were expert in war; for the little kings there agreed not well together, and that made the men to be expert, ilk ane of them to defend themselves from another. Ye may think they had all these, but had no wit to guide them? Ye may not think that neither, for they had civil policy among them, they had a king; and when they saw the enemy approaching, they sit down to a council of war, to consult what they should do to hold aff the enemy; and they think it enough to hold the ports fast. And so they thought, if Joshua and these who were with him would not flee at first, they would force them to it by holding them out. This was one great strength.

But there was another strength there greater than all their walls and gates,---even the gates of hell were there to hold out the peopleof God. The powerof the devil was there; they had strong and mighty anes, principalities and powers, to defend them, for they worshipped devils. And I may lawfully say they did so, for the Scripture says it,---that all worship of heathens or Papists, even whatsoever is not done according to God's word, that it is done to the devil; for whatever is not from the good Spirit of God, it is from the evil spirit of the devil. And seeing that the devils were worshipped there, they would be as loath to be displaced out of the city as the king or the people.

The third strength that was to hold them out was greatest of all: there were divers persons in the camp of Israel whose hearts now did altogether faint. Many of them, when they heard the spies first, murmured, and would fain have been back, for they had unbelief ringing (reigning) into their hearts, and would have been glad of any refuge at all, for fear the enemy had come out upon them, not believing the truth and the promise of God. And as there were unbelievers among them, so I may say there was not a heart among them, Joshua's own not being excepted, but there was unbelief in it; and, I may say, in the most part more unbelief than faith; because all of us are more fleshly than spiritual, and faith is of a spiritual substance, but unbelief of a fleshly; and still the flesh lusts against the spirit. Even the strongest faith has doubting, and is mixed with unbelief, for we cannot with our whole hearts believe God's truth; but still there is something wrong.

So this threefold strength was against God's people, and is yet, and ever will be, to hold them out of the right way. 1. All natural strength and artificial, strong high walls, great able men, all policy and craft, will be used against the kirk and the children of God. 2. There is against her all principalities and powers, even all that the devil can devise. 3. There are some also among God's people with whom infirmity prevails altogether, who, for worldly respects, will join in profession and in a confession with the people of God, but when trouble comes, withdraws again.◊footnote{Perhaps the allusion here is to some few among the nobility, such as Cassilis and Rae, who were supposed at this time to have deserted the covenanting interest.} And, indeed, these are the worst sort of enemies the kirk has; and every ane of us carries about with us a great measure of unbelief mixed with our faith. What should we do then? Now I would not have you to think that I am telling you of all this to discourage you from going on into a good course when ye are into it, but only to let you see that we have great need of the power of God, when we are begun into a good course, and to let us see, if the Lord but leave us to ourselves for a little, then we will be nothing else but a prey to our enemies both spiritual and temporal. And if there were no other enemy, yet our awin heart is ane enemy great enough to hinder any good work. And these enemies that I would have you now to take heed to are spiritual enemies. There is no nation or kirk but they have spiritual enemies, evermore some who is ready to hinder a good work from being done, or when it is done to undo it: when there is a reformation working into a kirk they labour all that they can to hinder it, and when it is wrought, to deface it again. Beloved, every carnal heart is a spiritual Jericho; for when the Lord comes, he besieges that heart, he displays his colours of red and white, war and peace, and he lays out also his black colours of death, to make that heart to yield. What does the carnal man then? He says, I will not yield for all that, I will not be moved, for I have strong walls to hold out all these. Unbelief still says, "I sall have peace, though I walk in the imaginations of my awin heart;" that is, Let the Lord do what he pleases, I sall find peace, and I will continue in my awin ways, and yet I sall find peace. Yet, when the Lord sends his last trumpet to sound, and the dead shall rise, then all these walls, they sall fall flat to the ground, if it be not before then; and then the opposer sall be cast in everlasting burning, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. And if there be such opposition into one soul, what opposition must there be in many souls; and when there is such opposition against the reformation of one heart, what must there be when there is a reformation of Religion intended? It is no wonder indeed that it comes not speed, but is hindered very far; but the wonder is that it comes any speed at all; and it is the greatest wonder that ever we heard tell of, that such a good work sheuld have gone so far on here in so short a time. They are very ignorant who knows not that it is evermore the malice of enemies to oppose any good work when it is begun, and to hinder it so far as they can.

II. "Faith." Thisis the strength that they must oppose against thir strong high walls. There are two things to be considered here. 1. The persons who had this faith. 2. How their faithwas a strength to overcome these mighty walls.

◊it{First}, The persons who had this faith. It was not Joshua his alone. There are many notable persons marked before in this cloud of witnesses for their singular faith whilk they themselves had, and there were notable things

done by them through faith; but now in thir last two examples, it is not the faith of one singular man that is marked, but of many. Ye heard that when the Red Sea was divided it was not Moses' faith alone that did it, but the whole people; and now he says, "By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days." Now, by whom was it that they were compassed? Not by Joshua alone, but by the people of God; and therefore, it was by their faith the walls fell. Beloved, (as I said before), I may say there were divers among thir people who had no faith at all, and there was unbelief in the hearts of the best of them; and yet, for all that, ye see there is no mention made of the unbelievers, nor yet of the mixture that was in these who had faith: and so ye see that faith prevails so over unbelief, that there is no mention at all made of it. What was the reason of this? Because the faith whilk they had was true and unfeigned, although it was not perfyte; and that makes all the rest to be passed by, and not to be considered. There be some who objects, Wherefore serves the renewing of a Confession of faith, seeing there be some who are ignorant, profane, and wicked persons in it,◊footnote{The utmost care was taken by the leaders of the Covenanters that no unworthy person should be admitted to subscribe the covenant. In the end of their first answer to the replies of the doctors of Aberdeen, Messrs Henderson and Dickson say, amongst other things, "That others of no small note offered their subscriptions, and were refused, till time should try that they joined in sincerity from love to the cause, and not from the fear of men." Notwithstanding, however, of this vigilance and care, some had crept in unawares who were a discredit to the cause.} who may be ready to bring the curse of God upon others? Albeit it be so, yet we must not leave aff for all that; and albeit there be many ignorant and unbelieving creatures, and wicked also, joined to it, and the best has great ills, yet that is not looked to; but if there be any sincere or upright work in any, that is looked to by God, and commended. And indeed, this is a great cause of rejoicing to the people and servants of God, that neither the infidelity that is altogether in some, nor yet the mixture of faith and infidelity that is in the best, sall prevail, but faith sall prevail above them all.

Now concerning faith, look to a threefold work that it has. 1. In believing and apprehending anything to be true. By faith we believe that the world was made; we have no more warrant that the world was created, but that it was from eternity, but only from the word of God. 2. The second work of faith is doing. There is mickle action, ye see, ascribed to faith in this same cap., in Enoch, Abraham, Moses, etc., and all these worthies who are put into this register. 3. The third work is suffering; for through faith they did suffer mickle for the truth, mockings, imprisonment, stoning, etc.: yea, all the ills that man could lay upon them, they did endure them all through faith. First, faith is shewn by believing and apprehending the truth of God's word; secondly, in action, by doing these things whilk it requires; thirdly, in suffering, when there is no place for them to do any thing for the truth, nor have they strength to do anything, then they suffer for it; and will rather suffer all that can be laid upon them, before they endure the very smallest matter of religion to be wronged, so far as they can. He that believes not that God is true in all that he has spoken, and he that sets not himself to do something according to that truth, and that both in prosperity and adversity, and, when he is put to suffering for the truth, will not undergo it also, they will be ready then to renounce their religion. And therefore, since that faith has a twofold working, both within and without, one seen and another unseen, go not to say, "I have faith and believes," and yet in the meantime never labours to walk according to thy faith, and when thou art put to suffer anything for it, will not undergo that, and so submits not thy neck to the yoke of Christ.

This faith has this quality with it, that it is a secret, unseen, and invisible strength. Even such is the strength of God's people, it is secret, unseen, and invisible to the world; and this is [causes?] the world to be insolent against them, and yet in the meantime they are confident to be victorious through their strength. When God's people believe his promise, they have strength enough against all their enemies, albeit the enemies perceive it not.

◊it{Secondly}, Beloved, how is it that faith is strong enough against all thir walls and powers? It seems that it is a enchantment to make them fall down; for what strength was there in their faith to make the walls of Jericho to fall down? That ye may consider this purpose the better, consider of these things. 1. The people of God, they did believe his power, that he was strong enough. 2. Consider that the Lord gives them a promise that the walls of Jericho sall fall. 3. They believe this promise of God to be true. 4. And lastly, the Lord in his due time, upon the seventh day, and the seventh time of the seventh day, the Lord employs his power for performing his promise to them. So it is the power of God that made the walls of Jericho to fall, but here it is ascribed to faith, because they believed that this powerful work would be done by God's power. And therefore, we need not to stand for no impediments that can be in our way in doing a good work, for faith is strong enough against all; if we have a promise of God to be with us, he has power enough to perform it, and so whatsoever God has promised to us is easily done by his power, if we have faith to believe it; he will fulfil his promise to us in due time, if we will wait on till the appointed time.

Now, what comfort is this to us that "by faith the walls of Jericho fell;" for they had a particular promise for this? It's true indeed that where God has made a special and particular promise, we are bound to believe; but without that, it's presumption; or if we had the faith of miracles, then we might remove mountains; but where none of these are, what better can we be? Beloved, there is a special promise made to the kirk of God, that she sall never perish, but sall continue to all generations; that she sall never be moved, because she is builded on the rock hewn without hands. Secondly, there is another special promise made, that the true kirk of God sall prevail over the false kirk of Antichrist; and so ye know there is a threatening in the Revelation, that Babel, the mother of fornications, sall be destroyed. So then, albeit all the kings and princes in the earth should join and band themselves together against the true kirk of God, whilk is builded on the rock, they may well persecute her for a while, but they sall never extinguish her, nor put her clean out; yea indeed, by persecution the true kirk does rather increase nor decrease. If all the kings and princes in the earth should turn, (as they wrongfully call them), Catholick kings, and join all their powers and forces together for the holding up of Babel, yet, in despite of them all, it sall fall to the ground; and he who has begun to make Religion to shine, sall in his appointed time make Babel to fall to the ground, and set up his awin kirk: whatever be the power that the Lord choose for the doing of it, yet we are sure he will do it. God's people, whereever they are in every land, albeit they have not a particular for every one of them, yet they have a general promise particularly applied; and is not that als good? God has promised to his people, "I will never leave you, nor forsake you:" "I will be a sun and a shield to you?" and so labour anes to make this sure, that ye are the people of God, and that ye are labouring to live as it becomes his people to do, and then ye may say that all the promises made to the kirk of God, or to any within the kirk ever since the beginning, they belong to you. Therefore, as it is ◊ref{1Sam.12.24}, "only fear the Lord, and serve him with all your hearts. For the Lord will not forsake his people for his great name's sake: because it hath pleased the Lord to make you his people." And, indeed. Israel had no greater assurance to have the promises fulfilled to them than we have, if so be we will fear the Lord, and serve him with our whole heart; and if he perform one promise for us, then all sall be performed.

III. Now with this secret strength there are means joined; and the means that are joined seems to be very weak for that end. Only to compass the city about anes ilk day of six, and on the seventh day seven times, and at the seventh time, the seventh day, the priests to blow their trumpets of rams' horns, and all the people to give a shout ---these seems to be very weak means, yet it was that whilk God had ordained; and they give obedience to it. And indeed, obedience to the commandment of God is a great help to get a thing done well, and has great virtue with it. The means that the Lord chooses in themselves seems to be very weak, and so were thir also; but the Lord chooses them for good reasons. 1. To harden the hearts of the enemies. Their doings now seemed to them to be but ridiculous, for they thought now that they had only been but jesting them, to see them all marching in order about the walls, and never a word among them, nor never ane preassing (endeavouring) to stir them; but this is done that the enemies may never take the matter to heart, till their destruction come upon them. 2. These weak means were ordained also to try the faith of God's people, for he thought it meeter, at their first entry in the land, to try their faith than their valour. Might not the wise grave old men that were among them think, what a foolish thing 1s this, for us to go about the city thus? And then we must have trumpets with us, and not the silver trumpets, but base ones of rams' horns, and go in order, and not speak, and so oft, even thirteen times! All this was done to try their faith.

Certainly, beloved, in beating down the walls of spiritual Jericho and Babel, the Lord he uses very weak means. What was that made the kingdom of Satan to fall as lightning in the beginning of the Christian religion? No great strength, but only the preaching of some few weak apostles. And in the beginning of the Reformation there were but few for religion, but now it has spread itself very far, and many are for it. And at the beginning of this same great work in this land few did appear for it at first, and these were not mighty anes, yet now it has spread throughout the whole land.◊footnote{Knowing the truthfulness of Henderson's nature, and the acknowledged integrity of his character, we are safe in concluding, that if he had himself been a mean of organizing the commotions of the previous year, according to Guthrie, he would have avoided this and such like assertions.} And therefore consider of this when ye come to hear the word, and to receive the sacraments. Thou may think, "what needs me to go out of my own house for thir things? I may get all at home that I see there." Yet consider that it is a compassing of the walls of spiritual Jericho, and a sounding of trumpets against it; and if thou will use these things in faith, and in obedience to the commandment of God, thou sall find the success thereof answerable to all that is spoken of them. What virtue was there in the water of Jordan more than in other water? Yet Naaman, he behoved to wash there, because it was the commandment of the Lord; and he was made clean by the power of God joined with it. And what virtue was there In a piece dead brass? (for so it is called,) yet when the people were stinged with serpents, they who looked to it were healed. Howsoever indeed, this is not to spoil the word and the sacraments, that they can do nothing, yet there is no power of regeneration in them but when they are done in faith, and in obedience to the commandment of God, and he accompanies them by his Spirit. If his power be not with them, they are unprofitable to salvation; but if his Spirit accompany them, then they will be effectual.◊footnote{"The sacraments become effectual means of salvation, not from any virtue in them, or in him that doth administer them; but only by the blessing of Christ, and the working of his Spirit in them that by faith receive them." Shorter Catechism. The similarity between the thought and language in the Sermon and in the Catechism is observable.} And therefore, albeit the means of themselves seem to be weak, yet come to the using of them in obedience and in faith, and thou will find the success thereof to be answerable to all that is spoken of them; providing that thou go about as long as God has directed thee. Thir people might have thought, we have gone about anes, and there is not one stone fallen yet; yea, when they had gone about six days, there was not a stone fallen nor loused; yea, when they went about the sixth time the seventh day, all was as at the beginning: and the reason of it was, ◊it{because the appointed time was not yet come}. So when we are discouraged that we have been long using the means of grace, and we see not a stone of our spiritual corruptions falling to the ground more than at the first day, but they stand; and when we have opposed them, no prevailing over them, but rather they have prevailed over us; yet for all that, let us still believe in faith, and use the means: and if we will do so constantly, let us then resolve that the time is coming when all these walls sall fall, and we sall get victory over all our enemies. There be two things to comfort a Christian soul in these onsets. ◊it{First}, that he believes and rests upon the promise of God, and by that he knows that he sall come quickly, and sall not tarry; so he believes that the word of God is true whilk he has promised; and he believes that there isa good time coming, when the promise sall be fulfilled. This upholds him in his straits. ◊it{Second}, whilk 1s a very strong one, even the testimony that he has within himself of his obedience, and that he is doing the will of God: that assures him of a victory over all his enemies. So long as thou has thir two, thou needs not to fear. So let us evermore believe the truth of God''s word and of his promise, and then let us certify ourselves that he will come, and go on in obedience to his will against all enemies, and then we may be sure of victory over them. ◊it{Obj.} When some witnesses of the truth has opposed the enemies thereof, the enemies have grown greater, and the truth has been borne down more. ◊it{A.} The due time has not been then come, and God has done so for his further praise; but it sall not always be so. For albeit to thy sense all seem to be gone, yet because God has made a paction with his people to deliver them, therefore they sall be delivered, and the enemies sall be altogether confounded, as thir walls fell all at a rush; which was greater glory to God than if they had been thrown down stone and stone.

But was there no other strength nor no other means whereby thir walls were overcome? Yes, there was more; for as ye heard out of ◊ref{Josh.5}, there is one who is prince and captain of the Lord's host, he is with them, and this is no other but Jesus Christ; and Joshua worships him, and calls him, The Lord. He appeared to him in the likeness of a man; albeit he was not yet bodily incarnate, yet he took on this similitude now, to show what he was to be. So it is that same Lord whom they tempted so long in the wilderness; it was he who spake to Moses out of the bush, and said, "I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob;" it was he who was with them at the Red Sea, and went in a cloud then betwixt them and the Egyptians, and turned the dark side to them, and the light side to the Israelites. It was he who promised, ◊ref{Exod.23.27-Exod.23.30}, to drive out the people of the land before them, and now he is come to fulfil his promise, but he is not seen by them. But tlfey had a testimony of his presence always with them, whilk was a testimony of the presence of God in Clrist. In it was the tables of the law, whilk so often we do break; and there was above that a golden lid, and above it the two cherubs, whilk lid covered the law whilk the people did transgress. And God himself was presupponed to sit betwixt the two cherubs; and so when the Lord looked down, as the cherubs did, he did not see the law whilk was broken, because of the lid that covered it: even so, when God's law is broken by us, he looks not to it, but looks to the propitiatory---that golden lid, Jesus Christ, who covers all our breaches of the law, and so he sees not the miquities of his people. And with that angels were also represented by the two cherubs, whilk made them to be a strong army---the people themselves, God and his angels being with them, whilk indeed was strength enough.

IV. The fourth and last point in the text is the success of this. "The walls of Jericho fell down;" "And it was so that they did fall flat to the ground." Now, walls may fall divers ways. 1. By their weakness, as not being strongly builded, or by wearing; and thus, albeit they were of brass or iron, with time they will fall. 2. By the ingyne (skill) of man, or by strength, or by the ambition of men, as the Temple of Diana, it was builded by one in his ambition, to be one of the seven wonders of the world, and another in his ambition brunt it. 3. By the power of God directly; and there is none who can do it so easily as he can, either without means, or by very weak means. Babylon, it was great and stately, yet what way confounded he the building of it? He did only change the sound of letters, whilk, ye know, is but a very small thing---the changing of a letter; he made them not dumb, but changed the sound, that they understood not others, and so the work was confounded. And here he employs but weak means, and yet the walls falls flat to the ground: and so when the Lord applies his power to very weak means, of necessity the success must follow, according to his promise.

Let us observe here a word of three or four causes that made the walls to fall. The ◊it{first}, ye sall learn it out of ◊ref{Gen.15.16}. Their sin was now come to a height, their cup was now full; for ye know there it is said to Abraham, "The cup of the Amorites is not full;" and therefore Abraham and his seed behoved to be strangers four hundred and thirty years; but now their sin is at a height. From the very beginning their sins were crying for a vengeance from God, and ilk sin that they committed pyked out a stone, and undermynded the walls, and so their awin sins were their ruin. When all sort of sin grew common in all sorts and ranks of persons, and sin came to a height in all, and they did abound in atheism, idolatry, excess, filthiness, bloodshed, deceit, craft, malice, etc; when all sins were come to a perfection, then of necessity wrath behoved to come upon them. Happy are they, beloved, who keps (catches) up their sins in time, and snibs (checks) them at the beginning, that they come not to ripeness; that gives not their sins leave to fill the cup, but are daily skailing (spilling) some of them by repentance; for when the cup is ance filled there is no more patience or sparing. The enemies of the kirk here were become insolent and proud, and their sin was come to a great height; and God's people were groaning and crying to him: and their sin being at such a height, and God's people groaning under the burden, of necessity their strong walls behoved to fall.

◊it{Secondly}, They had a strong confidence in their walls---they thought it impossible for any to take them in, or to get their walls overcome. For it seems they put their whole trust in their walls, for they used no means to hold aff the enemy, but only keep their ports fast; and yet, ye see, that same was the thing that beguiled them. And therefore, . we should look what it is that draws our hearts aff God, for God will light upon that. If we trust in our wisdom, courage, strength, friends, etc., if any of these become ane idol to thee, then God will ruin that to the very ground: thy wisdom sall be turned into foolishness, thy strength in weakness, thy friends in enemies. And therefore, we had great need to take heed to ourselves, that we lippen not over mickle in anything beside God; for, indeed, the most part lippens all to the means, but looks not to God. Indeed, we may use second means; but put no confidence in the means, as if they of themselves were able to do anything; otherwise ‘thou art ane enemy to God, and he will make that'to disappoint thee wherein thou lippens most.

◊it{Thirdly}, God took the people's hearts who were within the town. For when the two spies went in to the house of Rahab the harlot, she told them that all the people's hearts were fainting, and their terrours were fallen upon them; for they had heard how the Lord had dried up the Red Sea before them; how they had overcome the two kings of the Amorites. "When they heard of these things," she says, "their hearts did melt, and there remained no courage in them;" for they kent that God himself was fighting for them, who was God of heaven and earth. Beloved, God can strike men with other mighty terrours than these, as he did Paul; but he can strike them with divine terrours into their minds; especially this will be, when the enemies apprehends that it is God's people they have to.do with, that it is his cause they are defending, and that they have found his providence for them also.

So when the enemies are forced to acknowledge that we are the people of God, and they are also forced to grant that it is the cause of God we have to defend, and that he has already wrought great things for us, then indeed there will be a divine terrour into the enemies' hearts, and their hearts will fall clean away. Thir people were so stricken with fear that it is said, "their hearts melted" like wax; and it seems that it was because of that they did close their ports.

◊it{Fourthly}, God had taken wit from them. Albeit that, (as I said before), they had some order and policy among them, yet in this they were unwise; for their rulers, who had such good natural parts, when they saw the enemy approaching, they should have joined themselves together to resist the enemy; and all the rest about should have joined with them also, seeing it would come to them next: but the rest thought, albeit the fire was begun there, yet the flame would be quenched before it came to them. It is true indeed, I grant, albeit they had so banded themselves together, it had been against God, and so they had not prospered; yet it was defect of wit in them that made them not to do it. And therefore let us learn a lesson from their foolishness; when we see that there is any appearance of danger among us, let us band ourselves strongly together in a good cause. And not only is this lawful to be done, but it cannot stand with equity nor piety if we do it not; for all the people of God they are all members of one body; and seeing they are all members of one body, why may they not all join together for the defence of their head and themselves? They are all sailing into one ship together through the stormy seas of this tempestuous world; and so when there is a leak strucken up into the one end of the ship, sall the rest say, "I will not stir, because it is not come to me?" No, all should join together for to mend it again, and so to hold out the water. We are all of us in one house, under one roof; and therefore when the fire is begun in the one end of the house, will not thou rise to help to slockin (quench) it, because it is not come to thee yet◊footnote{ The same illustrations occur again. They seem to have been favourite ones with Henderson.} Certainly that is great madness, for it will come to thee next, if thou stay in the house, and the fire be not quenched. Can there be any safe when a leak is strucken up into a ship, if it be not helped? will not all be brunt who are in a house when fire enters into it, if so be that it be not slockined? Now, are not all of us members of one body, in a ship, and in a house together? Indeed that we are; and certainly we do not the duty of Christians, nor stands it with piety and equity, except all of us stand for the defence of Religion, and every one of us of another, in a good cause.◊footnote{"We promise and swear, That we shall... stand... to the mutual defence and assistance every one of us of another, in the same cause of maintaining the true religion, and his Majesty's authority, with our best counsel, our bodies, means, and whole power, against all sorts of persons whatsoever; so that whatsoever shall be done to the least of us for that cause, shall be taken as done to us all in general, and to every one of us in particular." ◊it{National Covenant}.}

And T hear there be some who challenges this point in our Confession of faith, that people and subjects, all of them should join themselves together for the defence of Religion, and every one of them of another, in a good cause.◊footnote{No comment is here required by any who have the least acquaintance with the history of the time.} Beloved, certainly as that is als steadable (available) a point as any that is in it, so it is als laudable a point as any that is in it. Some people may well object, and say, If authority had interposed such a thing, then it were lawful and commendable; but seeing that it is done without authority, what warrant have they to join themselves thus together? I may say that this is ane of the main and principal causes why authority is opposite to this good and glorious work; for if all would join themselves together in this work, then the Lord would put it into the king's heart to take some good course for establishing of religion; but when there be many who will not join themselves, and authority is misinformed by them, what wonder is it that they appose it? And I may say also, what authority had Nehemiah to cause the people of Israel enter in a covenant with God? His warrant was only to build Jerusalem, but not for a covenant, and yet, ye see, he caused them to renew a covenant with God. Or what authority had Hezekiah or Josiah to meddle themselves with the people of the ten tribes, to bid them come to Jerusalem, to the Passover? Yet ye may see it plain in the history they did it. It were to be wished indeed that authority would join themselves to every good work, for it would make the heap greater; but for us to say that we will not join ourselves to religion, nor care what religion be in the land, except our magistrates bid us, that is a great madness. And therefore it is good for us to join to◊footnote{◊it{Join to}---An expression which means to engage in any employment.} the commandment of God, in faith and in obedience to it, and to join together for the defence of religion: that so religion may continue among us in purity, and we may have peace and comfort in it, through Jesus Christ. To whom, etc.